Hembree Brandon, editorial director for Farm Press, has been named the winner of Farm Bureau’s Ag Ambassador Award for his “thousands of columns and articles” in support of agriculture during his 37-year career at Farm Press.

He was also commended for his assistance to Farm Bureau in its Farmers Of Mississppi promotional campaign to educate the general public about agriculture and how it affects their daily lives.

Brandon, who lives in Starkville, Miss., was named the award recipient at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in Jackson. The award was created to “recognize individuals who have gone beyond their normal range of activities in promoting agriculture,” the MFBF said.

“In 37 years with the Delta Farm Press, he has written literally thousands of columns and articles about many facets of agriculture. One article in particular was about Farm Bureau’s Ag Image Campaign. The article detailed the public relations effort by the organization and how they are trying to educate the general public about the benefits of agriculture and how it affects their daily lives.”

The Agriculture Ambassador award “recognizes individuals who have gone beyond their normal range of activities in promoting Mississippi agriculture, “said David Waide, Farm Bureau president Waide. He noted that the award is not given every year, but “only when Farm Bureau feels it has been earned.”

Brandon is a native Mississippian having grown up in New Albany. After school, he worked in public relations with the state highway department in Tupelo. Then for 10 years, he was the editor of the Winona Times. He came to the Delta Farm Press in 1973.

He writes a weekly column that appears in each of the Farm Presses — Delta, Southeast, Southwest and Western — and has penned feature articles about literally hundreds of farmers across the five-state Delta Farm Press circulation area. He is also responsible for the content and layout of the Farm Press Show Programs for the Sunbelt Expo, Mid-South Farm and Gin Show and numerous other special publications.

Farm Bureau officials said the Ag Ambassador Award is not presented every year — only when Farm Bureau feels that it has been earned.