Release Date: December 21, 2017
Bill Cosh, Communications Director,
608-224-5020
MADISON – The Country Today editor Jim Massey was honored today by Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Sheila Harsdorf for his more than three decades of covering agriculture in Wisconsin.
Harsdorf presented a proclamation from Gov. Scott Walker to Massey during the December meeting of the Board of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Massey plans to retire at the end of the year.
Massey has served as a reporter and editor for the weekly ag newspaper for more than 30 years. During that time, he has covered nearly every monthly meeting of the ATCP board – meetings that generally last most of the day and that result in several stories. In addition to his reporting duties, he has served as editor of the paper, overseeing the work of other reporters.
“Jim has served agriculture admirably in Wisconsin by reporting the issues fairly and accurately,” Harsdorf said. “He has given credit where credit is due, but he has never failed to ask the hard questions and hold us accountable to our constituency. Farmers always knew they could trust the information Jim provided.”
The proclamation reads in part, “Jim Massey has traveled across the state for decades to attend events, take tours, visit with industry leaders and meet government officials…(He) is known as a knowledgeable, accurate, and fair editor… has covered a wide breadth of topics including complex policy issues, exciting innovation in agribusiness and touching stories about Wisconsin’s multi-generations farm families and … has been a trusted partner and friend to Wisconsin agriculture during good times and challenging times, and he will be missed.”
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