Rick Friday, a cartoonist with 21 years at Farm News, was dismissed after a single cartoon drew backlash from a major seed company. The cartoon, depicting two farmers discussing the disparity between their profits and those of large agribusiness CEOs, led to the company withdrawing its advertising in protest.
Friday, a self-taught artist who began drawing as a child in Lorimor, Iowa, was informed via email that his cartoon would be his last. Despite his long tenure and significant readership, the controversy resulted in the cancellation of his work and the end of his career at the publication.
