Editor's Note:

As the year comes to a close, we've once again asked the DTN/Progressive Farmer reporting team to pick out the most significant, most fun, or otherwise their favorite, story of 2025. We hope you enjoy our writers' favorites, continuing the series with today's story by DTN Senior Crops Editor Pamela Smith.

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Tragedy sent Tara Barrett-Duzan back to the family farm. Pure grit has kept her there. Her story of trading a career as a television news anchor for farming and what's she's learned along the way is my choice to highlight as a favorite 2025 article.

DTN first introduced Barrett-Duzan through the article "Farmer's Daughter Keeps Legacy Alive" (see https://www.dtnpf.com/…). Her story was told through the lens of a newly released film documentary called "The Farmer's Daughter." The December cover story of Progressive Farmer took a deeper dive into her thoughts on the need to talk and plan for farm succession, and recently we ran it on DTN. (See "Lessons on the Importance to Plan for the Unexpected," https://www.dtnpf.com/…). We'll have another story in the new year about how to gather and store critical information to assist in times of crisis.

The selection of these articles is personal for me. I'm a farmer's daughter who never lost the longing to be a farmer. In Barrett-Duzan, I found plenty of common ground -- from the importance of 4-H in our early lives to the innate curiosity that propelled us both toward journalism.

However, the fact that Barrett-Duzan's career shift came as a result of tragic events imparts an important perspective. Wishing for something to happen and facing it because something unthinkable did happen are two very different things.

Barrett-Duzan's full-time journey started with the sudden death of her brother in a motorcycle accident. When her father asked her if she was interested in joining the farm, she thought there would be many years to cement the business relationship. Unfortunately, cancer robbed them of that valuable time together.

"My dad had planned for my brother to take over the farm," explained Barrett-Duzan. "But when my brother was killed, Dad asked me to change my career. And when my dad died, I was totally thrown into something I had never envisioned."

While the storyline involves heartbreak, Barrett-Duzan is cut from a cloth those involved in agriculture know well. She has a job to do and summons the determination and mettle needed to get it done.

The film about this journey was directed by her former WAND-TV co-anchor, Scot England.

"I had wanted to tell Tara's story for five or six years," said England. "When she gave up her TV job to help her dad on the farm, I thought, 'This is going to be very interesting.' And when her dad died and she took over the entire operation, I thought, 'No other female TV anchor would do that.'"

Despite her training behind the camera, it took Barrett-Duzan a bit of coaxing to allow a film crew to follow her for a year. The result, though, is a well-balanced look at the complexities of managing a farm. It details many of the roadblocks she faced.

In the PF cover story, she issued a heartfelt plea to others to talk about the "what ifs."

It takes courage to tell this kind of story. In doing so, Barrett-Duzan inspires others and me to plan for the unknown and provides a road map to hope.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @PamSmithDTN

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