High Plains Journal: History, Regional Editions, Events and Editors
Profile updated November 2026
High Plains Journal has called itself the Farmer's Paper since its first edition rolled off the press in Dodge City, Kansas, on January 6, 1949. Today the weekly reaches more than 65,000 farmers and ranchers in print across a 12-state region, publishes five regional editions and runs a calendar of educational events.
| First edition | January 6, 1949, renamed from the Dodge City Journal |
|---|---|
| Founder | Joe Berkely, with three partners |
| Headquarters | Dodge City, Kansas |
| Frequency | Weekly, in print and digital editions |
| Editions | Western Kansas, Eastern Kansas, Western Plains, Southern Plains and Midwest Ag Journal |
| Editor | Dave Bergmeier, editor since October 2019 |
| Official website | HPJ.com |
History of High Plains Journal
The paper's roots reach back to the 1880s in Dodge City, where an earlier publication operated as the Dodge City Journal. After returning from World War II, Joe Berkely saw the need for a farm paper built around the High Plains. He and three other owners took over the existing paper, renamed it High Plains Journal and printed the first edition on January 6, 1949.
In 1959 Pete Armstrong of McCormick-Armstrong Company in Wichita bought a controlling interest, and Berkely stayed on as publisher until he retired in 1994. Associate publisher Duane Ross succeeded him, and HPJ launched its website, hpj.com, in 1995. Tom Taylor, on staff since 1974, became publisher in 2008, and the paper began sending a weekly digital edition in 2012.
Longtime editor Holly Martin became editor and publisher in 2017. In 2018 Nelson Spencer Jr. bought the paper, which now operates under the parent company Bound Media, and Zac Stuckey became publisher in 2021. HPJ marked its 75th anniversary with a year-long celebration in 2024, still based in Dodge City.
High Plains Journal Today
High Plains Journal publishes five weekly editions so readers get news tuned to their part of the Plains: Western Kansas and Eastern Kansas; Western Plains for Colorado, western Nebraska and Wyoming; Southern Plains for Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arkansas; and Midwest Ag Journal for eastern Nebraska, Missouri, eastern South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.
Beyond print, HPJ offers a digital edition, email newsletters and HPJ Talk, a video series of interviews, webinars and deep dives on its website and YouTube channel. Since the early 2010s it has also hosted in-person educational events.
What High Plains Journal Is Publishing Now
Crops, livestock and markets
Weekly sections cover wheat, row crops, cattle, machinery, markets, regional news and opinion columns, along with classifieds and an auction calendar.
The U events
Producer education programs branded Cattle U, Soil Health U, Alfalfa U and Cotton U, plus Crops and Cattle meetings and farm shows.
HPJ Originals
Books and resources produced from the paper's archive and reporting, part of its effort to tell producers' stories.
High Plains Journal Editors and Staff
HPJ's own pages and its HPJ Talk series identify these people:
- Dave Bergmeier - Editor
- Kylie Reese - Associate Publisher
- Zac Stuckey - Publisher (named in 2021)
- Kylene Scott - Editorial contact, 20-year HPJ veteran
- Lacey Vilhauer - Editorial contact
Bergmeier grew up in Colby, Hoxie and Phillipsburg in northwest Kansas, earned an agricultural journalism degree at Kansas State University and worked at community papers in Norton, Winfield and Abilene before joining HPJ as managing editor in April 2013.
Who Reads High Plains Journal
Readers are wheat, sorghum, cotton and cattle producers and agribusiness people from the Texas Panhandle to Minnesota. Kansas is the paper's home base, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture publishes the state statistics that frame much of HPJ's crop and livestock coverage. Nationally, USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.9 million farms averaging 463 acres, a scale that makes regional editions like HPJ's practical.
High Plains Journal readers watch the sky, the wheat and the cattle market in roughly that order, and they know wind is a permanent member of the family. For a break from the forecast, farm.FM runs farm satire and farm humor with a dry Plains delivery, plus ranch humor for the cow-calf crowd. Its farm jokes travel well from Dodge City to the sale barn coffee table.
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.
High Plains Journal Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- HPJ: A look back at 75 years of High Plains Journal history - the paper's own timeline.
- Wikipedia: High Plains Journal - overview of the weekly and its five editions.
- HPJ Talk: Editor Dave Bergmeier - the editor on ag journalism and producers' stories.
- Kansas Department of Agriculture: Kansas agricultural statistics - state crop and livestock data.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture release - national farm numbers and size.
High Plains Journal FAQ
When did High Plains Journal start?
The first edition under the High Plains Journal name was printed January 6, 1949, in Dodge City, Kansas, though its roots go back to the 1880s.
Who owns High Plains Journal?
Nelson Spencer Jr. bought HPJ in 2018; it operates under the parent company Bound Media.
Who is the editor of High Plains Journal?
Dave Bergmeier, who joined in 2013 and became editor in October 2019.
What area does High Plains Journal cover?
A 12-state region served by five editions, from Texas and New Mexico north to Minnesota and Iowa.
Seventy-five years after Joe Berkely's first edition, High Plains Journal is still the Farmer's Paper for the Plains, printed weekly from Dodge City.