Tom Budd looked up from his oversized wooden desk and stared at me. “So, it looks like you enjoy working with young farmers as a vo-ag teacher. But can you write?”

I liked teaching, especially coaching FFA teams. But I loved to write. So, I looked straight at the venerable editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer, a farm boy once himself, and didn’t hesitate.

“I love to write. I grew up on a small, tenant dairy farm and don’t have a chance to farm, but I love talking to farmers.”

“Then write me a story. Pick your subject and include lots of details.”

I wrote two stories instead of one, and they included real farmers. And when my new boss, Tom Budd, needed stories, both appeared in the magazine.

That was the summer of 1981. I’ve never looked back — until now. Change eventually comes to everything. My time for change is coming ... not today, but very soon.

Welcome aboard

Knowing this day would come, we’ve been searching for the right person for some time. Thankfully, that search is over. We found the right “someone” to assist and eventually guide Indiana Prairie Farmer to new heights.

More precisely, someone found us. Meet Allison Lund, a farm girl from Cambridge, Wis. She will officially join Indiana Prairie Farmer as a staff writer in January. But if the name sounds familiar, you saw her byline in the Farm Progress Show program and on Indiana Prairie Farmer articles recently. Lund was the Farm Progress summer intern.

The truth is, you’ve seen her byline going back to 2021. Mark Tucker, ag communication professor at Purdue, identified Allison as an outstanding freshman and arranged for her to write a couple of stories for Indiana Prairie Farmer. Soon, I was asking how we could get her to write more stories. Farm kids with both a flair and talent for writing don’t come around every day. 

Farm kids who know how to work hard are tougher to find today, too. We did most things the hard way when I grew up. Allison’s family raised a considerable acreage of tobacco as she grew up, and she did her fair share. Milking cows and raising tobacco — both teach the value of hard work.

Next chapter

Where do we go from here? As Allison gets settled, I will still be here to assist. Later this spring, I will step back from Indiana Prairie Farmer. But I won’t retire fully. Instead, I will pioneer a new position as Midwest crops editor for Farm Progress.

I am confident you will be as gracious and welcoming to Allison as you have been to me for all these years. For our part, we will make sure you continue to receive sound, unbiased, cutting-edge information.

As for Allison, here is all you need to know. Mark Tucker and I ask each senior in the capstone class to write a story suitable for Indiana Prairie Farmer. She wrote two, and even prepared audio interviews for the online versions. You can find stories about new Purdue Ag Dean Bernie Engel and retiring agronomist Tony Vyn online.

Ask for one, get two — sound familiar? Welcome aboard, Allison!