SALEM, Ohio — Last year, Farm and Dairy celebrated its 100th anniversary, and we wanted to start our second century with a fresh, new look that illustrates the forward-thinking media company we are. We also conducted a readership survey last year, and many of the design changes we’re unveiling are a result of your comments. You talk, we listen!
We received a lot of positive feedback from our commemorative 100th anniversary issue last October, so we decided to carry over the popular cow icon to our new brand logo, which you’ll find at the top of this page. The cow first appeared in 1916 in Farm and Dairy (then called Farm and Dairy Profit), and is making her comeback — a symbol that we’re building on a rich tradition and history, but not afraid to change.
With the newspaper redesign, we wanted to improve two things: readability and consistency. We’ve chosen new fonts and a cleaner style for our news and auction listings. It’s less condensed and, overall, easier to read. The fonts also brought an updated look that Farm and Dairy needed.
As you’ll see with this issue, we’ve also updated all of the mastheads and section fronts, and artwork like columnists’ headings, throughout the paper, with the hope of making things easier to find.
Auctions
Within the auction section, we’ve made some specific changes, many based on your comments in our survey.
We now have more zones so you can target specific geographic areas and know where an auction is being held more easily. We’ve divided Ohio into eight zones, and Pennsylvania into two zones. The zone classification will be larger on the ads, and closer to the date and location heading at the top of each ad. And you’ll be able to more easily find the zone map in each issue.
A redesign of the auction ads themselves includes an emphasis on the location, date and time of each auction consistently at the top of each ad, so you’ll be able to see those details quickly at a glance.
We’ve also made small changes to our Auction Calendar that lists each auction advertisement and its page number that will make the listing more readable. Dates and times, as well as the auctioneer’s name and the page number, will be highlighted in bold.
Welcome feedback
Farm and Dairy is as dynamic as its readers, and now we have a new look to start our journey into the next 100 years.
We’d like to hear your comments about the new look and changes. Please give us a call at 800-837-3419 or email me at publisher@farmanddairy.com.
— Scot Darling, Publisher
