Is This The End Of Modern Farmer? Editorial Staff Walk Out

Modern Farmer is best known as the somewhat-quirky, splashy magazine that gives us a sneak-peak at the agricultural industry, and most importantly introduced us to some adorable, freewheeling goats via its explosively-popular goat cam. But now the 100,000-circulation quarterly magazine and website are in jeopardy, and no one knows if Modern Farmer will have a future, according to the New York Times. In December, the magazine's founder walked out, and this Friday, the rest of the editorial staff also left. The magazine is not planning to publish a spring issue.

However, all may not be lost. A publicist representing the magazine explained to the New York Times that the magazine would resume publication in the summer after editorial replacements are hired.

Modern Farmer was not just a trade magazine, or a publication that appealed to agriculture enthusiasts: the magazine struck a chord with the general public as well, with hard-hitting reporting on ecological issues like GMOs, amusing features like an entire issue dedicated to donkeys, strong Op-Ed's, and an aesthetically-appealing website design.

"I don't want to speak ill of the dying, but what is the plausible audience in such a magazine?" magazine veteran Kurt Andersen told The New York Times. "It was too kind of nitty-gritty and old-fashioned, back-to-the-land hippie magazine for the food-farm porn market, and yet too 'What about the dairy situation in the Philippines?' for people who are really raising chickens for a living."