Airing on the Side of Agriculture

Dan Lemke is the newest addition to the Linder Farm Network (Owatonna, MN) staff, reports General Manager Lynn Ketelsen. Dan's duties include on-air broadcasts with Lynn and Linda Brekke in addition to covering major ag events across Minnesota and the nation.

Skip Davis (Emeritus Member, WASK retired, Frankfort, IN) says, “Since October 2016, I've accepted more responsibility.  That was when the Clinton County Commissioners and Council decided to take apart the fair board and appoint a new body focused on reviving the present county fairgrounds.”  Skip made it known he was interested in serving.

Jody Heemstra has returned to broadcasting as News and Farm Director for Dakota Radio Group (Pierre, SD) at KGFX.  She had been a Broadcast Council member from 2006-2015 before she became a communications specialist for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA).

On December 14, Christine Quinn (Allied Industry member, McLean, VA) was presented the Farm Credit Administration Chairman’s Award, the top employee award given by her agency. Congratulating her is FCA Board Chairman Dallas Tonsager, left, and Board Member Jeffery Hall. Her husband, Larry, was notified the day before and was invited to attend the ceremony, but he is not accustomed to keeping secrets from his 47-year partner.

Linder Farm Network will once again be holding its annual Ag Outlook Series of meetings in January.  The meetings will focus on management and marketing strategies for the coming year and will feature some of the top experts in the country. Registration will be at 8:00 a.m., and the forums start promptly at 9:00 a.m. The programs wrap up by 2:30 p.m. Cost is $35 per person. Lynn Ketelsen (Linder Farm Network, Owatonna, MN) said, “We have gone from five locations to seven now because of the demand.”

​Wey Simpson (Emeritus member, Spokane Valley, WA) says, “I don't broadcast anymore.” After all, the day after Christmas, he just turned 91½.  “I still like to write and do a lot, but mostly for my personal wishes. I have a massive narrative of my family history that I work on when I have time.” Wey reports with a heavy heart that his wife, Jean, died November 18, 2017. “I was determined to deliver a eulogy because she was such a special person.  It was hard, and I admit my voice broke a few times, but I've heard many compliments for how moving and meaningful it was.”

On December 1, Rhonda Garrison (Southern Farm Network, Raleigh, NC) concluded a near 20-year career in ag radio, 15 of those years behind the microphone and more than 10 of those years with Southern Farm Network. Rhonda got her start in ag broadcasting with KGNC-AM (Amarillo, TX).  She began first in ag advertising sales transitioning into broadcasting full-time in the spring of 2003.

After a five-year stint teaching college, Mike Davis, the new News Director for the Southern Farm Network (Raleigh, NC), is excited to be a part of this staple for rural and small-town families. “For 43 years, SFN has been the go-to place for information about agriculture news, crop markets, agritourism and informative reports and interviews with the agricultural newsmakers in the Carolinas,” Mike said. He grew up in Knightdale, NC, back in the days when it was a “wide place in the road” outside of Raleigh, so his heart has always belonged to rural families.

Carey Martin said his interest in radio started in high school when he would listen to the DJs count down the top-10 hits each night on the radio.  “Since I was a farm boy growing up on a beef cattle and dairy farm, it made sense that I would pursue a career in farm broadcasting. During college, I was fortunate to work internships with Doug Thomas at the Southern States Network, Don Molino at the Louisiana Agri-News Network and Mike Danna at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

“I love an adventure.” That’s the first thing Sabrina Hill says when asked why she has chosen to leave California, and a network she helped build, for the Northern Plains. Hill was Farm News Director for AgNet West from 2012 until December 31, when love of adventure and love otherwise led her to North Dakota.