At Ag Media Summit, held July 23-27 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Livestock Publications Council awarded the Progressive Dairyman team with first-place honors in “Non-Association Publication” and “Publication Website.” These were two of 54 total categories in the organization’s annual contest. The Progressive Dairyman team is “honored,” says Managing Editor Walt Cooley. “Both of these categories are typically very competitive, especially the non-association publication award,” he said. “These awards are the result of a team effort from a highly talented staff.”
Progressive Dairyman magazine started in 1987 as a newsletter produced by Leon Leavitt of Jerome, Idaho. Over the years, the newsletter, which originally focused on dairying in Idaho, grew to a national publication, delivered nationwide every three weeks.
Leon’s sons, Alan and Glen Leavitt, now run the magazine and employ more than 25 staff members. The Leavitts aim to become the number one agricultural magazine company in the country, while providing the same customer service and loyalty one would expect from a family-run business.
Sister publications of Progressive Dairyman magazine include Progressive Dairyman-Canada, Progressive Forage Grower, Progressive Cattleman and El Lechero magazines.
The publication website award speaks to the efforts of a recent website redesign project and a commitment to social media involvement.
The new www.progressivedairy.com was launched in March 2010, and the magazine has a presence on Facebook (www.facebook.com/progressivedairyman), Twitter (www.twitter.com/PDmag) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/pdwebmaster).
The following are comments the judges provided regarding the website:
“Very nice use of graphics and text. Code was clean and contained proper meta tags for search engine optimization. A nice blend and use of social media links to drive additional traffic. Pages loaded fast, and website navigation and purpose was transparent. Great job!”
The Progressive Dairyman team is honored by the awards and comments and looks forward to continuing to produce a high-quality dairy magazine. The team also wishes to thank advertisers and subscribers for their continued readership and support of the publication.
Cooley also posted the following comment to the magazine’s Facebook page regarding the announcement of the award, “Thanks to Progressive Dairyman readers. You make providing a useful magazine truly enjoyable.” PD
About Livestock Publications Council
The LPC is a non-profit organization founded in 1974. A membership to the council provides the opportunity to network with other industry personnel and to obtain information to improve the effectiveness and value of a publication. Learn more at www.livestockpublications.com.
About Progressive Dairyman
Progressive Dairyman is a national dairy farm magazine published every three weeks for forward-thinking dairy producers. The magazine is the flagship publication of Progressive Publishing, which also produces Progressive Forage Grower, Progressive Cattleman and El Lechero magazines. These publications are offered free-of-charge to agricultural producers and allied industry personnel. Visit https://www.progressivepublish.com to sign up.
