The 2017 AgriNaturalist was named the top magazine produced by students by the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association (NAADA) at the 2018 national conference.
The AgriNaturalist is an annual magazine produced by students in the agricultural communication major as a capstone project. It is also the longest running agricultural student publication in the United States, with the 2017 issue being the 123rdedition.
“Our students pour such effort to create the AgriNaturalist each year,” said Dr. Tracy Kitchel, professor and chair of ACEL. “This recognition from the NAADA organization confirms that our agricultural communication major prepares its students with skills to be successful in their future careers of writing, designing and sales and the critical thinking skills required to put those pieces together toward the outcome of a product like a full-fledged magazine.”
Each spring semester, this magazine is completely produced by students – from advertisement sales, photography, graphic design, writing and editing. It covers topics in the Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership (ACEL), CFAES, The Ohio State University and the agriculture industry.
"I was honored to serve as the editor of the AgriNaturalist and count it as one of the highlights of my collegiate career,” said Megan Besanson, editor of the 2017 AgriNaturalist and current Marketing Specialist for Certified Angus Beef LLC. “This project was a culmination of everything we'd learned in our coursework and it gave our entire team an inside look at how to run a business and produce an outstanding magazine. This edition holds a special place in my portfolio.”
The NAADA organization is a professional organization who provides education, support and recognition for professionals and volunteers dedicated to expanding resources for advancing agriculture and related disciplines through and-grant and other colleges of agricultural sciences and partner programs.
As part of their conference each year, NAADA hosts the annual Publication and Project Competition for member schools to submit print, multimedia, campaign, events and society programming for consideration. The print media category is evaluated based on concept, writing, design, photos and graphics, print quality and budget.
Students, now Ohio State alumni, who served on the staff of the 2017 AgriNaturalist include:
Megan Besancon, editor
Mary Siekman, associate editor
Miranda Miser, sales manager
Elizabeth Overholt, associate sales manager
Lauren Corry, design editor
Shelby Bradford, associate design editor
Emily Henes, design staff
Mallorie Wippel, web editor
Hope Bondurant, writer
Mindi Brookhart, writer
Amanda Bush, writer
Tyler Crowe, writer
James Fairchild, writer
Sarah Johnson, writer
Chloe Moreland, writer
Taylor Pugh, writer
Rachel Romonosky, writer
Leah Schwinn, writer
Jarred Shellhouse, writer
Katherine Shoup, writer
Seth Zavodny, writer
Dr. Emily Buck, advisor
Dr. Annie Specht, advisor
Desiree Seeloff, graduate advisor
View the 2017 AgriNaturalist online or request a hard copy by emailing acel@osu.edu.
The agricultural communication major at Ohio State prepares its students to plan, develop and implement a communication campaign, using visual media, writing and editing. Students study crisis communication, graphic design, marketing and journalism so they can spread the word about agriculture. To learn more about the agricultural communication major, as well as the undergraduate majors of agriscience education and community leadership or our graduate programs, visit acel.osu.edu or call 614-247-6358.