Louisiana Farm Bureau Wins National Communications Awards

(Salt Lake City, UT) - The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation’s Information and Public Relations department won three categories and received one honorable mention at Tuesday’s American Farm Bureau Federation Communications Awards ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah.

LFBF’s outstanding video production team won two of the four video categories, taking top honors for Best Video News Story and Best Promotional or Educational Video or Documentary.

Karl Wiggers, Kristen Oaks-White and Avery Davidson shared the win for Best Video News Story for their coverage of the unprecedented flooding that hit Louisiana farmers in March of 2016.  The judges praised the story for its use of transitions, natural sound, a variety of shots and multiple points of view, making it “a very powerful story that was very well told.”

An outstanding video production by Kristen Oaks-White entitled “I am Farm Bureau” took the win for Best Promotional or Educational Video or Documentary.  The video featured clips of Louisiana Farm Bureau members expressing their love for farming and Farm Bureau.  It was praised as “an awesome video that does an excellent job of personalizing agriculture” with very high production value and a powerful message.

LFBF received an Honorable Mention in the Best Regularly Scheduled Video Program category for the weekly television show “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.” The judges said TWILA “does an excellent job of connecting viewers to Louisiana agriculture and their food.”

A new blog launched in January of 2016 was named Best Blog by the American Farm Bureau Federation.  The blog was created and edited by LFBF’s Carey Martin with the purpose of documenting the LSU Ag Leadership Program’s international trip to South Africa.  The blog featured entries from Martin, LSU Ag Leadership Program Director Dr. Bobby Soileau, several of the program’s class members and LFBF Video Specialist A.J. Sabine, who traveled with the class to document the trip on video. 

Titled “Outtakes and Observations,” the blog was dedicated to the memory of former LFBF Director of Public Relations Michael Danna.   He was an alumnus of the LSU Ag Leadership Program’s Class VIII in 2004 and traveled on each international trip to shoot video and document the journey on his blog with the same name. 

The American Farm Bureau Communications Awards are chosen annually and are open to all 50 state Farm Bureau Federations.