eChats

I hope harvest is going well for farmers in your area. My thoughts go out to everyone affected by the recent flooding. Members of your NAFB staff attended the fall NAMA Conference in Raleigh, NC this month. Mindy, Lance, Tom and myself had a chance to meet with many Allied Industry Members during the Conference and everyone was excited about the new additions to the NAFB Planner that will now include NASS data for every county! NAFB also hosted a a welcome luncheon Wednesday during the confernce, and we had our largest crowd to date! Thank you to Mindy and Lance for all of their planning for this event!

It's hard to believe summer is winding down, and we are heading towards fall and harvest! As we head into fall, that means more national events are coming up like Farm Progress Days and World Dairy Expo. I'm pleased to announce a new service from your organization that was an idea from a broadcast member. Under the News Service Tab, look for Coverage Opportunities. This will be a place to match up broadcasters covering an event with broadcasters looking for coverage from an event. All you have to do is e-mail Tom Brand, offering to cover an event or looking for event coverage, and it will be posted to the page. Check the page often and if there is something you are offering to cover or need coverage of, you will be able to contact that broadcaster directly and work out the arrangement between the both of you. Tom is hoping to have the page done in a forum type in the future so you will be able to post directly to the page. As time goes on, we may expand to include broadcasters looking for a vacation fill-in or other temporary needs. I hope you find this page useful.

Happy Fair Season! It's a busy time with county and state fairs, and I hope your broadcasts from the fairs are great! It's also been a busy time with severe weather for many, and while it's tough to report on our loyal listeners with damage, it’s during severe weather coverage that our stations shine! On July 5, we had five tornadoes in our listening area causing extensive damage. There have been many tornado outbreaks in Central Minnesota and over 11 inches of rain fall earlier in the month in Northern Wisconsin, so it has been a busy time for many of our NAFB broadcasters.

Happy June Dairy Month! Here in Wisconsin many dairy farms are showcasing their operations through breakfast on the farm events. So grab a bowl of your favorite ice cream, sit back and enjoy this month's eChats!

Neal Gladner, Management Sales Council Representative, with Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-News Radio Network has resigned from the NAFB Board of Directors. He accepted a position with a new network. Tim Marshall with KRVN Rural Radio Network was approved by the board to fill the seat vacated by Neal. We thank Neal for his service to NAFB and welcome Tim to the NAFB Board!

The 2016 Summer Board Meeting and Agribusiness Luncheon, will be held in Milwaukee, WI, July 20-22. This year’s Agribusiness Luncheon will feature a panel discussing food labeling. NAFB has extended invitations to agribusiness companies in and around the Milwaukee area, and we are collaborating with the Badger NAMA Chapter as part of their July meeting. Visit the NAFB site for more information and register for the luncheon.

During the recent NAFB Board of Directors Meeting in Washington D.C. the board approved Honorary NAFB Membership to two individuals who have contributed greatly to the business of Farm Broadcasting, and the U.S. agriculture industry. We welcome former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture 1989-1991, Clayton Yuetter and  retired President and CEO of Learfield Communications, Clyde Lear.

Greetings from the childhood home of Laura Ingells Wilder! I hope spring planting has been going well for your producers.

Your NAFB staff has had a busy few months since we last visited. In April, NAFB staff, along with other NAFB broadcasters attended the annual NAMA Convention in Kansas City. Staff was very busy talking with agricultural marketers about the NAFB Research, and there is excitement among agri-marketers about the research and what it means for upcoming media buys. If you have any questions about the research or how to go about using it at your shop, please call Mindy at the NAFB Office.    

Happy February! We are another month closer to planting season, a very important time for all of our members, viewers and listeners. The NAFB staff has been busy “planting” seeds with farmers, ranchers and agribusiness leaders in January. During National Cattlemen’s Business Association (NCBA) show the staff met with farmers and ranchers promoting all of you. They used the NAFB Planner to help farmers find a local NAFB Station and talked with agribusiness leaders about how NAFB Members and their stations can help promote their businesses!

Happy 2016! Here is to a profitable new year to you and your shops! The new year is going to be an exciting one for our organization. With the final wave of our research being completed to some new learning opportunities,there should be something for everyone to take advantage of this year.

As we gather with friends and family and look back on the past year, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your support, your friendship and your shared thoughts on NAFB this past year.