The last time we wrote about Sara Wyant, founder and publisher of Agri-Pulse, a digital media company covering agriculture and food-policy issues, she was hosting a hybrid event on Agri-Pulse TV at Washington, D.C.’s famed National Press Club. A virtual audience of 1,200 joined a few who came in-person—it was just after the pandemic—to hear big names in the field.
Since then, Agri-Pulse has continued to grow, and Wyant has named a new editor so she can “spend more time on our events and thinking about future growth opportunities.”
At BIMS 2025, Wyant will be speaking on a panel for the session The Solutions Caucus: How (and Why) B2B and B2C Approaches to Similar Challenges Diverge with Eric Hoffman, CEO, Hoffman Media, John Temple, president and CEO, Guideposts, and David Saabye, CEO, Golden Peak Media. See the full BIMS agenda here.
An investigative reporter who has written many groundbreaking stories, Wyant has covered almost every farm and food-policy debate since the 1980s. She served as the first female chairwoman on the Farm Foundation’s board of trustees and as president of the American Agricultural Editors Association.
SIIA Media Alert recently conducted a Q&A with Wyant.
How do you determine what resonates most with your audience and the balance of content that you should have?
We have a very good understanding of our community of readers and viewers and share this information with our staff on a regular basis. But we also pay close attention to open rates and overall site traffic. Our brand promise is, “Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights,” and we work hard to make sure that we are delivering on that promise with different political points of view, as well as opposing views on specific topics.
Where are events for you now and what lessons have you learned in the post-pandemic landscape?
We do several different types of events including full-day policy meetings, webinars, roundtable discussions, salon dinners—just to name a few. They are great for publicizing our brand to wider audiences and have also generated significant additional revenue. For full-day events, we look for high-profile speakers throughout the day, with panel discussions in between. One of the things we have learned is that a lot of preparation before the event goes a long way in keeping the discussions flowing and on time. We have also learned that networking is an important component for our participants, and we need to leave enough time in our schedules to make sure there is adequate time for a lot of important side conversations.
What other revenue sources are going well for you?
Paid subscriptions are still core to our business and continued to grow last year, but we have also grown our advertising base and event revenues. We launched a news show called Newsmakers in 2022 and it is gaining a great deal of momentum with viewers and advertisers.
Is social media a big thing for Agri-Pulse—and if so, which platforms do you focus on?
We are on X, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin, but we’ve seen the most growth and engagement on Linkedin.
How do you divide your time?
I named Philip Brasher as editor last year, and it’s freed me up to spend more time on our events and thinking about future growth opportunities. There’s really no shortage of good ideas we could pursue, but we try to focus on those that can provide the best all-around ROI with our relatively small staff. We have the biggest editorial team covering food and agriculture in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, but there are only eight editors and a handful of freelancers.
Thanks Sara! See you at BIMS 2025!
