What High Plains Journal does

High Plains Journal is a privately held agricultural media company headquartered in Dodge City, Kansas, that has served the High Plains farming and ranching community for 75 years. The company's core product is a regional agricultural news publication available in print and digital editions, covering crops (wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, cotton, hay), livestock (beef, dairy, equine, poultry), markets, weather/drought monitoring, machinery, and rural-lifestyle content across Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The publication is supplemented by an integrated portfolio of content programs including the All Aboard Harvest wheat-harvest correspondent network, the HPJ Talk video interview series, multiple email newsletters, an online classifieds marketplace (classifieds.hpj.com) for agricultural equipment and livestock, and an educational event portfolio (Crops and Cattle Expo plus the Cattle U, Soil Health U, Alfalfa U, Cotton U, Sorghum U, and Wheat U branded events).

The company operates a digital publishing platform comprising web content management, email newsletter delivery, a digital edition viewer, and video/podcast hosting capabilities, with market data licensed from CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange, and Barchart Solutions displayed on its website. High Plains Journal has no disclosed mobile app, no public API, and no AI/ML capabilities in the source material.

HPJ generates revenue through four diversified streams: print and digital subscriptions (recurring annual billing with multiple tiers), classified advertising (auction calendars, equipment listings, employment), display advertising from agricultural companies, equipment manufacturers, and agribusinesses, and event revenue from hosted educational programs and trade shows. The go-to-market motion is sales-led, targeting farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness professionals across the High Plains region. The company is independently owned with no disclosed parent company, institutional investment, or funding rounds, and is managed by a named leadership team including Publisher Zac Stuckey, Business Manager Brian Schoemehl, and Digital Media Director James Luce.

Name

High Plains Journal

Legal name

High Plains Journal

Website

https://hpj.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

High Plains Journal is a privately held regional agricultural media company in Dodge City, Kansas, delivering print, digital, video, newsletter, classifieds, and event products to farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses across the High Plains states for 75 years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural News Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Agricultural news publishing
• Farm journalism
• Agribusiness media
• Rural content publishing
• Agricultural market data

Headquarters

HQ city

Dodge City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Print and digital subscriptions providing exclusive agricultural news content, market updates, and regional coverage for farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness professionals.
2. Classified Advertising: Revenue from classified ads including auction calendars, equipment sales, and employment listings targeted at agricultural audience.
3. Display Advertising: Display advertising from agricultural companies, equipment manufacturers, and agribusinesses featured on the website and print publication.
4. Events: Revenue from hosted agricultural events including Crops and Cattle Expo, Cattle U, Alfalfa U, Soil Health U, and other regional farm shows.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

High Plains Journal publishes an agricultural news magazine in print and digital formats, covering crops, livestock, markets, weather, machinery, and rural lifestyle for farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness professionals across the U.S. High Plains. The publication is bundled with complementary content programs (All Aboard Harvest, HPJ Talk, newsletters), an online classifieds marketplace, and a portfolio of educational events and expos. Revenue is generated through print and digital subscriptions, display and classified advertising, and event fees.

Product overview

High Plains Journal is a single, unified agricultural news and information platform serving the High Plains region. The core offering is the High Plains Journal publication (available in print and digital formats), which is supplemented by several integrated content programs including All Aboard Harvest (wheat harvest coverage), HPJ Talk (video interviews), HPJ Events (educational programs like Cattle U and Soil Health U), Classifieds (marketplace), and Newsletters (email products). The company also organizes the Crops and Cattle Expo. All components are bundled under the HPJ brand, serving the agricultural community with news, markets, opinion, and education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• All Aboard Harvest: A coverage initiative featuring correspondents documenting custom wheat harvest operations across the High Plains
• HPJ Talk
• Crops and Cattle Expo
• HPJ Events

Products and services

• High Plains Journal Publication Agricultural news publication available in print and digital editions, covering crops, livestock, markets, weather, machinery, regional news, and rural lifestyle for farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness professionals across the High Plains.
• Digital Edition Online digital version of the High Plains Journal print magazine, providing subscribers with digital magazine access to all editorial content.
• All Aboard Harvest Comprehensive wheat harvest coverage program featuring correspondents documenting the annual custom harvest season across the Great Plains, including personal stories, field reports, and video content.
• HPJ Talk Video interview series featuring conversations with agricultural producers and industry leaders, offering practical takeaways and on-the-ground coverage of farming and ranching topics.
• HPJ Classifieds Online classified advertising marketplace for agricultural equipment, livestock, and services, including an auction calendar and a weekly classifieds digital edition.
• HPJ Newsletters Email newsletter products delivering targeted agricultural news updates to subscribers, including daily headlines, classifieds, and event-specific updates.
• HPJ Educational Events (Cattle U, Soil Health U, Alfalfa U, Cotton U, Sorghum U, Wheat U) Educational event programming covering cattle, soil health, alfalfa, cotton, sorghum, and wheat topics, designed for agricultural producer education.
• Crops and Cattle Expo Annual agricultural trade show and expo bringing together crop and livestock industry stakeholders for education, exhibits, and networking.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• CME GroupminorOthersMarket data provider partnership providing futures and commodities market information to HPJ readers. CME Group logo appears on homepage indicating data licensing relationship.
• ICE (Intercontinental Exchange)minorOthersMarket data provider partnership providing commodities exchange data and market information to agricultural readers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Farm Journal Media: Farm Journal Media is one of the largest U.S. agricultural publishing companies, producing The Farm Journal, Top Producer, and AgWeb. It is a direct peer to HPJ in that it sells ag news, market data, events, and multimedia content to farmers and agribusinesses, but at a much larger national scale.
• DTN / Progressive Farmer: DTN is a leading provider of agricultural market data, weather, and agribusiness content, and publishes The Progressive Farmer magazine. It directly competes with HPJ in ag market information, weather, and producer-facing editorial content, while also offering deeper data subscriptions.
• Successful Farming (Dotdash Meredith): Successful Farming is a long-running national agriculture magazine and digital brand owned by Dotdash Meredith. It directly overlaps with HPJ's core magazine and digital editorial offering for U.S. crop and livestock producers.
• Brownfield Ag News: Brownfield Ag News produces radio and digital agricultural news for farmers across the Midwest and Plains. It is a direct peer to HPJ in that it provides recurring regional ag news, market coverage, and agribusiness information to farmer audiences.
• Agri-Pulse: Agri-Pulse is a digital agribusiness news publisher covering policy, markets, and agricultural issues. It is a direct peer in serving agribusiness professionals and producers with subscription news content, though it leans more policy-focused than HPJ.
• Drovers / Farm Journal Livestock: Drovers is a livestock industry publication under Farm Journal Media covering beef industry news and markets. It directly competes with HPJ's livestock coverage for cattle producers and livestock advertisers, particularly in the Plains states.

Emerging players

• AgDaily: AgDaily is a digital-first agricultural news site targeting younger producers. It is an emerging peer overlapping with HPJ's digital editorial coverage of crops, livestock, and rural life, without HPJ's print and event legacy.

Regional players

• Northern Ag Network: Northern Ag Network is a regional ag media outlet serving Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas with TV, radio, and digital ag news. It is comparable to HPJ as a regional ag news provider with broadcast roots, but covers a different geography and does not directly compete in HPJ's core High Plains territory.
• Iowa Farmer Today: Iowa Farmer Today is a regional agricultural publication serving Iowa and surrounding Midwestern states with print, digital, and event content. It is a comparable regional ag trade publication with a similar business model, but covers different states than HPJ.

Others

• Barchart Solutions: Barchart is a market data and analytics provider that licenses commodity quotes to HPJ for display on its website. It is an ecosystem partner rather than a competitor, comparable as an enabling data infrastructure supplier within the same ag-media value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HighPlainsJrnl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HighPlainsJournal
• Facebookfacebook.com/highplainsjournal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/high-plains-journal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about High Plains Journal