A John Deere Publication A John Deere PublicationMeet The Furrow Team
Gil Gullickson
Gil Gullickson was raised on a Langford, South Dakota, farm that he now owns.
A South Dakota State University graduate, he has written for and edited several regional and national agricultural publications and websites. He served as president of two agricultural journalism organizations—the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) and the North American Agricultural Journalists. Gullickson is a three-time ACN Writer of the Year and four-time winner of the ACN Story of the Year. He was runner-up for ACN's Photographer of the Year in 2020. He has earned ACN's Master Writer, Master Photographer, and Fellow designations.
Gullickson is a Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award winner, which has been described as the "Pulitzer Prize of Business Journalism."
Katie Knapp
Katie covers agriculture throughout the Midwest and East Coast from her home in Minneapolis, Minn.
After growing up on a grain farm in central Illinois and becoming a proud Illini, she started her ag communications career on the agency side. She held positions in account service, public relations and market research working with organizations across the agricultural industry. Earning her master's degree in visual sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London, helped her switch into freelance photojournalism in 2016.
Knapp was named AAEA's Young Leader in Agricultural Journalism in 2018 and has earned several honors for her photography.
Lorne McClinton
Lorne is covering Canadian agriculture from his home on Wolfe Island, Ontario.
Lorne has worked as a freelance writer and photographer since 1982 and has specialized in agriculture since 1995. His work has appeared in a wide variety of agricultural, news, and business magazines in Canada and abroad.
McClinton's work has been recognized with multiple awards from both the American Agricultural Editors Association and the Canadian Farm Writers Federation. He is one of a handful of writers and photographers to receive both Master Writer and Master Photographer honors.
Martha Mintz
Martha covers Northern Great Plains agriculture for The Furrow from her home in Billings, Mont.
Martha was raised on a multi-generational Montana cattle ranch. She's maintained a 2-head herd on the family ranch for several decades now, which is just enough leverage to ensure she makes every cow working day possible and does at least some haying and calving. Her two young children, Cooper and Madeline, join in the adventure and are growing a strong passion for agriculture and rural life. A 2002 graduate of the Oklahoma State University agricultural communications program, Martha has spent more than 20 years chasing down and sharing informative and inspirational ag stories.
Martha was named Writer of the Year by the Agricultural Communicators Network in 2014 and 2016 and runner-up in 2015. She was named Photographer of the Year in 2019 and 2023 and has received multiple Story of the Year awards.
Bill Spiegel
Bill covers Great Plains agriculture, along with his passion for sustainable farming practices, from his home in Manhattan, Kansas.
Since 1995, Bill Spiegel has written for regional and national farm publications and serves as president of the Ag Communicators Network, the industry's trade organization. He manages a fourth generation family farm in north central Kansas, with a focus on soil health while raising wheat, grain sorghum, corn and soybeans. Bill joined The Furrow in 2022.
Steve Werblow
Steve covers Western agriculture from his home in Ashland, Ore., just north of the California border.
A 1988 graduate of Cornell University's College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, he has been a freelance writer since 1995. Werblow has covered agriculture on six continents for an array of magazines.
Werblow has received writing and photography awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association/Ag Communicators Network and the Livestock Publications Council. He has been named AAEA/ACN Writer of the Year five times and has earned the organization's Master Writer, Master Photographer and Fellow honors.
Steve's work as vice president and as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has also provided him with great opportunities to bring stories from around the world to readers of The Furrow.
Nate Werner
Nate has worked in creative services since graduating with a commercial design degree – with an emphasis in photography and print technology – in 1999
After working at several small shops and running a small creative services studio, he joined the John Deere marketing group in 2007, where he was the art director for the Parts & Service advertising group, Small Tractor advertising group, and finally the creative director for the Content Marketing group. In this position Werner functioned as the designer of The Furrow and Homestead, as well as a co-creator, producer and sound engineer of "On Life and Land", The Furrow's podcast.
Nate left John Deere in early 2020 to start a new independent creative services studio, and continues to provide design, creative direction and consultation functions for The Furrow.
He has received multiple design and podcast awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association, as well as multiple Telly and Davey awards from his time in advertising.
Anne East
Content Marketing Manager – John Deere
Anne East manages the development, production and distribution of The Furrow magazine from the John Deere Ag Marketing Center in Olathe, KS. She began her career with John Deere in 1994 and has worked in many different capacities, including order fulfillment, training, and marketing. She joined The Furrow in 2020.
Contact us
- TheFurrow@JohnDeere.com
- John Deere's The Furrow – Attn: Anne East
10789 South Ridgeview Rd.
Olathe, KS 66061