At the annual conference of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation (CFWF) in Halifax on Saturday, Ontario agricultural journalists Robert Irwin of Vankleek Hill and Don Stoneman of Bancroft were presented with CFWF Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The pair’s careers, achievements, and contributions to Canadian agricultural journalism have been intertwined since they met as colleagues working at Farm & Country magazine in the late 1980s. When that publication folded in 1999, a group of its employees quickly regrouped, producing the first edition of Better Farming magazine only four months later, Irwin and Stoneman developed a reputation for leading a team of strong investigative journalists that covered stories across the spectrum, including farm animal welfare, stray voltage and its effects on livestock, the Ontario government’s decision to end the Slots at Racetrack program, the role of women in farming, neonicotinoids, sewage spills and bypasses from urban sources and more. They also covered farmers’ mental health issues years before they were given prominence in mainstream farm discussions. Among the magazine’s best-known pieces was a series on Lyme disease that won both national and international awards.

In 2007, they broke the story that later became known as the ‘Pigeon King’ scheme, with coverage containing more than 50 stories as the issue was first publicized, charges laid and through the court case. In years since, it has been used as the basis for both a play and a feature on CBC’s Farm Crime series. Former colleague Mary Baxter said, “They worked hard to uphold the principles of good, investigative journalism, and they gave their staff the chance to dig deep into really important issues.”

Kelly Daynard, Bernard Tobin, and John Muggeridge, all members of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers’ Association, submitted the nomination, and Baxter and other agricultural journalists and communications professionals from across the country submitted letters of support. Kelly Daynard and CFWF president Allison Finnamore co-presented the award to the recipients.