The Doan

Stewart Doan

Stewart began his career as assistant farm broadcaster at KAIT-TV in Jonesboro, Arkansas, after graduating from the University of Kentucky. In 1985, he succeeded John Philpot as farm director at the Arkansas Radio Network in Little Rock. He married his wife, Leslie Smith, in 1987. Doan's career continued as Delta Regional Farm Director of the Yancey Ag Network/Clear Channel Communications in Little Rock.

For more than 30 years, the Kentucky native covered agricultural news for a variety of media and was considered the premier cotton and rice journalist in the nation. He expanded his horizons to master the difficult policy questions with which USDA and Congress grapple. He was in Washington, D.C. regularly to interview policymakers and to develop his wide range of contacts.

Stewart was president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) in 1998 and continued his involvement by serving on a variety of committees. He was instrumental in developing successful programs for several of the association's annual Washington Watch meetings and was a regular contributor to the NAFB News Service throughout his career. His peers recognized his talents and journalism skills in 2006, naming him Farm Broadcaster of the Year.

Stewart was also recognized by the National Cotton Council, the USA Rice Federation and the Arkansas Farm Bureau for his reporting on a wide range of agricultural policy issues. In his work, he had the opportunity to meet and interview national and international leaders, including Presidents Obama and Clinton; numerous Secretaries of Agriculture and other cabinet officials; Arkansas Governors Beebe and Huckabee; Fidel Castro and many others.

He was senior editor at Agri-Pulse Communications and also worked as an agriculture journalist for the NAFB.

Stewart passed away suddenly on May 10, 2012. His passion for agriculture and reporting on the issues affecting farmers and consumers are missed by the entire agriculture community.