Farm Press is pleased to announce that Shelley Huguley, Olton, Texas, is joining Southwest Farm Press as a staff writer, beginning October 10.

Shelley earned an Agriculture Communications degree from Texas Tech University and has worked in numerous ag media positions, including as a marketing specialist for the Olton Co-Op Gin and as a media publication specialist for the Texas Forest Service.

In 1998 she served as an information officer and team leader for the Texas Forest Service during the 1998 fire season, a year of significant wildfire activity in Texas.

Huguley has also contributed articles to several agricultural publications, including Southwest Farm Press, as a freelance writer.

“We are excited to have Shelley join the Southwest Farm Press staff,” said Ron Smith, editor and Senior Content Director for Farm Press Publications. “Shelley’s unique vantage point as a farmer’s wife and her experience with agricultural businesses will bring a fresh perspective to farm issues.”

Shelley says her husband Preston, a third generation farmer who grew up in Olton, grows irrigated cotton, corn and wheat. “He’s been on a tractor since he was 8 years old,” she says. They have three children, Breely, 15; Brennon, 12; and HalleeKate, 9.

“I'm excited to tell the story of agriculture, of its farmers and ranchers, of its policies, of its crops, of its concerns and solutions,” Huguley said. “Whether capturing production agriculture and its people in photos or in writing, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to tell their story.

“As a farmer’s wife, I have a front-row seat to the concerns that face producers, a perspective of what is relevant to farmers and ranchers today,” she said.