Editorial Contacts
28 Milwaukee Ave. W
P.O. Box 801
Fort Atkinson, WI 53538
Amber Friedrichsen joined the Hay & Forage Grower staff as an associate editor in May 2023. As of July 2024, she has assumed the role of managing editor.Friedrichsen served as the editorial intern in 2021 and 2022. She graduated from Iowa State University in May 2023 with a double major in agricultural communication and agronomy. As a graduating senior, Friedrichsen was honored with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council Academic Achievement Award.
“In August 2023, Friedrichsen received the"Story of the Year" award by the Agricultural Communicators Network, a national organization made up of agricultural journalists and media professionals.
Friedrichsen grew up and worked on her family’s diversified crop and livestock farm in eastern Iowa near Clinton. While at Iowa State. She also served as a student writer for Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Communications Department and wrote for the Iowa State Daily, the university’s newspaper. She also served as president for the school’s Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow chapter and participated in two college-sponsored agriculture study abroad trips to Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates.
In her role as managing editor, Friedrichsen will continue to provide content for both eHay Weekly and Hay & Forage Grower. She will also assume additional administrative duties and will be an integral voice in planning future magazine content and direction.
28 Milwaukee Ave. W
P.O. Box 801
Fort Atkinson, WI 53538
Mike Rankin joined Hay & Forage Grower as the managing editor in April 2015. Since July of 2024, he has transitioned to senior editor. He had previously served 27 years as the Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin crops and soils agent with the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Service. He also worked eight years on a large dairy and grain farm in southern Illinois.
As an extension agent, Rankin authored numerous crop management factsheets, conference proceeding papers, and spreadsheet decision-making tools. He also wrote a weekly newspaper column and many feature articles for state and national media publications. Rankin has presented crop management information on over 3000 radio programs and given forage presentations at state, regional, and international conferences. He also has collaborated with extension specialists on numerous forage and field crop research projects. On a state level, Rankin co-chaired the UW-Extension forage programming team for 15 years and maintained the Wisconsin forage resources website.
Rankin received both his bachelor?s degree in dairy science and master?s in crop production and physiology from Iowa State University. He also is a certified crop advisor through the American Society of Agronomy.
Rankin has earned the Midwest Forage Association's Outstanding Service Award, the Wisconsin Forage Council's Outstanding Educator Award and the National Association of County Agricultural Agent's Distinguished Service Award. He has served on the boards of the Midwest Forage Association, Wisconsin Association of County Agricultural Agents, Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants, the Wisconsin Forage Council and the Fond du Lac Area Agribusiness Council.