Airing on the Side of Agriculture

“I fully intended to farm after I graduated from college and spent time in the Army. However, the untimely death of my father ended that dream as I approached active duty and the farm operation had to be terminated. But since he was the smartest man in the world, and he had told me to get an education in something else, in case I could not farm, I headed into farm broadcasting once I was discharged,” said Stu Ellis (WHOW, Decatur, Illinois). 

“Growing up in Wisconsin — America’s dairyland — I thought I had a decent sense of what ‘farming’ meant to those directly involved in it as well as to the people of a state that proudly billed itself as an agricultural leader,” said Jim Timm (Nebraska Broadcasters Association).

Hoosier Ag Today (Zionsville, Indiana) recently recognized its founder, Gary Truitt, as he celebrates 40 years in farm broadcasting.

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has announced three marketing and agricultural leaders as winners of the 2021 Professional Development Awards (PDA) of Excellence. Amy Bradford, current NAFB Allied Industry Council board member, received the 2021 Public Relations PDA award for drawing attention to GROWMARK in the national conversation.

Montana State University (MSU) will honor Taylor Brown, a widely respected broadcaster, rancher, and former state legislator, with an honorary doctorate degree during commencement ceremonies set for Friday, December 17, 2021, in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, Montana.

After 105 weekly episodes, Brent Adams left his award-winning Fastline Fast Track show in late April to help build a new brand — FarmLife Media LLC.

George Bower (KICD, Spencer, Iowa) is gearing up for the return of the world-famous Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa. It returns this year after being canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020; it was only the second cancellation in more than 100 years, the first being a five-year suspension during World War II. The 2021 Clay County Fair this year runs September 11-19.

Leif Bakken decided the next step in his career would take him east after working in the west for the Northern Ag Network in Billings, Montana, for nearly three years. Bakken decided it was time to get back to his roots in local radio. This was fitting because this summer he celebrated 10 years in radio with a career that started at his local radio station, KBJM (Lemmon, South Dakota).

Dennis Michelsen’s career in the ag industry began as a meteorologist doing ag weather reports for the Tribune Radio Network as part of his duties at a private weather forecasting firm in the early 1980s.

When travel restrictions were relaxed earlier this year, Carey Martin (Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network, Waco, Texas) took advantage of the opportunity and kicked off a summer road trip to visit network affiliate stations and see rural Texas.