Sara Wyant, president and CEO of Agri-Pulse Communications, recently received the Rueben Brigham Award.
The award is given by the Association of Communication Excellence (ACE) to a communicator who has made a major contribution in the field of agriculture, natural resources, or life and human sciences.
Wyant’s impressive career in agriculture started on a farm in eastern Iowa, where she grew up.
“I always loved to write, so I went to Iowa State University to major in journalism with minors in political science and English,” Wyant said. “I had the opportunity to serve as an intern for a farm magazine, and that really helped me hone my skills.”
She discovered agricultural communications, which combined her agricultural background and passion for journalism. Over her career, she has been dedicated to furthering the field of agricultural communications in a variety of ways.
“I have been focused on doing great journalism and leading a team of fantastic journalists who work for me and who have worked for me in my various career positions,” Wyant said. “I also enjoy being able to help others develop professionally.”
Wyant created Agri-Pulse Communications a few years after graduating from college.
“I was working for Farm Progress, and I decided to launch a print version of Agri-Pulse with the understanding that I would publish every couple of weeks and still do some freelancing,” Wyant said. “I did that for about a decade, and I was asked to come back to Farm Progress to lead their editorial division as their vice president.”
She went back to Farm Progress and spent her time managing several magazines across the country. The next step in her career was client consulting, and they remembered her print publication from the early years of Agri-Pulse Communications.
“They really liked what I did with that print publication, so I relaunched in 2004 as an all-digital subscription publication,” Wyant explained. “Next year will be our 20th anniversary, and we’ve been able to build a really fantastic team of journalists.”
About four years ago, Agri-Pulse Communications was able to launch a separate edition based on California agriculture legislature. Wyant has always had a passion for agriculture, but there was something special to her about the laws that govern American agriculture.
“I’ve always felt that it’s important for people to understand what’s happening in the political process and when they do, they are better informed and can be better advocates for whatever they want,” Wyant said.
Outside of her professional career, Wyant has been a member of professional organizations such as NAFB.
“NAFB has been very important to me, because some of my best friends are members,” Wyant said. “NAFB does a superb job of not only keeping their members current but also making sure they are bringing new members to the fold.”
Wyant served as the NAFB Foundation president in the recent past, where she helped foster opportunities for the next generation.
“The NAFB Foundation has been proud to offer several scholarships to college students who are interested in becoming better communicators as well as professional development opportunities for existing communicators and broadcasters,” Wyant said.
The Reuben Brigham award was a pleasant surprise for Wyant, and she was proud to be a recipient.
“I was really delighted to be honored by an association that does so much to keep other people informed,” Wyant said. “ACE is an international association of people who offer professional development and networking opportunities so they can extend their knowledge about agriculture.”
