The Newspaper Farm Editors of America was formed in 1952 to promote the highest ideals of journalism and agricultural coverage. The name was first changed to the National Association of Agricultural Journalists and then in 2000, was changed again to reflect the contributions of Canadian members and is now known as the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ).



Members are journalists in North America who report or edit agricultural news for newspapers, magazines, wires and syndicated services and are independent of agricultural organizations and businesses.



The organization holds its annual meeting in Washington D.C. in April where winners of its writing contest are announced. Also presented are four memorial awards: the J.S. Russell Award; Glenn Cunningham Agricultural Journalist of the Year Award; Bill Zipf President's Award; and, The Audrey Mackiewicz Special Award. The organization also holds a fall meeting, with the location rotating across the country



The objectives of the organization are to promote the professional status of journalists with interest in agriculture, to encourage high standards of professional competence, to emphasize the importance of agricultural news in complete news coverage of the American scene and to provide a meeting place for fellowship and professional improvement.



Regional groups of NAAJ include:

* Northeast - Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, D.C.

* Southeast - Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi.

* Midwest - Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri

* Southwest - Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Colorado

* West - Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon. California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah. Wyoming

* Canada - all provinces in Canada