Country Life in BC found the “win” in “Winnipeg” on September 20, receiving a record nine awards during the annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation.
Top honours went to contributor Ronda Payne, who received a gold award for her technical feature in the March 2024 issue, “Pruning should focus on the needs of the bush,” about pruning techniques in blueberries.
Writer Tom Walker received two awards for his reporting. He received silver in the business reporting category for “Stabilization initiative yet to bear fruit,” a report on the province’s long-running orchard industry stabilization initiative, in the July 2024 issue. Bronze honours went to “Salmon farm ban sends message to land-based farms,” a current affairs feature in the August 2024 issue that addressed the implication for land-based farms of federal moves to ban open-net salmon farms off the BC coast.
Kootenay contributor Tracey Fredrickson also received a silver award for her people feature in the September 2024 issue profiling Thetis Island farmers Elisabeth and Noah Bond, “Gulf Island entrepreneurs eye food security.”
On the opinion front, policy columnist Kathleen Gibson received silver for her March 2024 column, “The Land Act: important context, faulty process,” while multi-year winner Bob Collins received bronze for his September column, “Redefining labour as a technological problem.”
Prolific photographer Myrna Stark Leader received honours in all three photography classes. Her photo of Kelowna fruit grower Karma Gill and his grandson Jhelum on the cover of the August issue received silver in the people category, while her October cover shot of people gathered around an apple harvester received bronze in the production category. “Heading Home,” a photo of seasonal workers walking away from the camera under an arcade of trees on the cover of the December issue won silver in the landscape category.
The tally on nine awards was the paper’s best-ever showing, and represented nearly a third of the 29 awards presented that evening.
Other recipients with BC connections included Country Life in BC contributor Kate Ayers, currently completing a farm apprenticeship, who received a bronze award in the communications category for an item published by Western Canadian Dairy News.
The David Schmidt Award, named for long-time Country Life in BC editor David Schmidt and presented to the year’s best new writer, went to Saskatchewan’s Janelle Rudolph, a graduate of Thompson Rivers University’s Communication and Digital Journalism program.
A total of 139 entries were received across 14 categories this year. Winners receive monetary awards along with recognition for their outstanding work in advancing agricultural reporting and communications across Canada.
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