Neighbors Magazine: Alabama Farmers Federation History, Coverage and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
Neighbors magazine is the monthly publication of the Alabama Farmers Federation, the farm organization better known to many Alabamians by the Alfa name it shares with its insurance company. Launched in 1975 and billed as the voice of agriculture in Alabama, Neighbors covers the state's farming news, its farm families and the federation's work.
| First published | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Alabama Farmers Federation (Alfa) |
| Federation founded | January 1921, at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) |
| Frequency | Monthly, with combined issues such as December/Winter |
| Members | More than 360,000, per the Encyclopedia of Alabama |
| Headquarters | 2108 East South Boulevard, Montgomery, Alabama |
| Official website | AlfaFarmers.org |
History of Neighbors
The organization was formed in January 1921 at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, as the Alabama Farmers Bureau. Its first state president was Charles W. Rittenour. His successor, Edward O'Neal III, went on to lead the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Walter Leon Randolph, president from 1940 to 1961, remains the longest-serving leader. Under Randolph the group founded Alabama Farmers Bureau Insurance in 1946, the forerunner of Alfa Insurance.
A 1981 split from the national Farm Bureau over an insurance sales dispute led the state group to drop Bureau for Federation in 1987. It rejoined the American Farm Bureau Federation in 2005 but kept the Alabama Farmers Federation name. The federation says it began with 17,000 Alabama families and had grown to nearly 340,000 by its centennial in 2021.
Neighbors first appeared in 1975. Jerry A. Newby led the federation from 1998 to 2021, and Jimmy Parnell has been president since 2021.
Neighbors Today
Neighbors still arrives monthly, and every issue is posted as a flipbook on the federation's Issuu account, with recent editions from 2021 through 2025 available online. The federation's website also runs Neighbors stories as web articles, so the magazine's reporting reaches members and nonmembers alike.
The federation describes itself as having youth and women's programs and 17 commodity divisions, and those groups supply much of the magazine's news.
What Neighbors Is Publishing Now
Commodities and markets
Reports from the federation's commodity divisions, from peanuts, cotton and poultry to cattle, timber and catfish, such as coverage of a new peanut shelling plant.
Young farmers and leaders
Stories on Young Farmers committees, county leaders chosen for national roles and leadership programs that groom the next generation.
Farm families and rural life
Features on Alabama farms, farmland stewardship and rural communities, plus federation policy news from Montgomery and Washington.
Neighbors Editors and Staff
Bylines and the federation's contact listings name these Neighbors contributors:
- Jeff Helms - Editorial contact and Neighbors writer
- Maggie Gaddy - Editorial contact
- Marlee Jackson - Editorial contact
- Jimmy Parnell - President, Alabama Farmers Federation
Who Reads Neighbors
Readers are federation members across Alabama's 67 counties, from Wiregrass peanut and cotton growers to north Alabama poultry families and Black Belt cattle and timber operations.
Poultry is Alabama's leading farm commodity, and nationally poultry and eggs brought in $46.1 billion in 2021, second only to cattle among animal products, according to USDA's Economic Research Service. Federal census data from USDA NASS show the same family-farm pattern Neighbors writes about, with 95 percent of U.S. farms family owned.
Neighbors readers grow peanuts in the Wiregrass, raise broilers on Sand Mountain and keep cattle in the Black Belt, and they can tell a good story on a front porch. In that spirit, farm.FM shares farm satire and farm humor with a friendly Southern drawl, plus ranch humor for the cattle folks. Its farm jokes are best told during a long wait at the peanut buying point.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
Neighbors Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Encyclopedia of Alabama: Alabama Farmers Federation - history, presidents and the Neighbors launch.
- Alabama Farmers Federation: A historical timeline - the federation at 100 years.
- USDA ERS: Animal product cash receipts - poultry and cattle economics.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture release - national farm numbers.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Alabama county and state farm data.
Neighbors FAQ
When did Neighbors magazine start?
The Alabama Farmers Federation began publishing Neighbors in 1975.
How often is Neighbors published?
Monthly, with occasional combined issues.
Is the Alabama Farmers Federation part of Farm Bureau?
Yes. It left the American Farm Bureau Federation in 1981, rejoined in 2005 and kept the Federation name.
Where is Neighbors based?
At the federation's headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama.
Half a century after its first issue, Neighbors magazine still brings Alabama's farm news home to hundreds of thousands of federation members.