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Davis Michaelsen (Farm Journal Broadcasting, Cedar Falls, IA) said, “I didn’t go to journalism or broadcasting school, but from an early age, I learned from my dad, who was a seasoned writer and farm broadcaster.”
Ag broadcaster Phyllis Parks, (WITY radio 980 AM and 99.5 FM in Danville, IL) is a Certified Public Accountant by profession, and she has a CPA firm, Daughhetee & Parks Management Consulting, PC, in Danville, IL. One of her clients is David Brown, owner of WITY radio.
After more than a decade-long hiatus, DeLoss Jahnke returned to farm broadcasting in 2013 at WMBD-WIRL (Peoria, IL). “It was baptism by fire hosting long- and short-form programs, but it was wonderful to be back in the profession I’ve always enjoyed.” Then in 2015, DeLoss said, “I was fortunate to join Rita Frazer at Illinois Farm Bureau and the RFD Radio Network. 
When asked how he ‘came to fame’ as a farm broadcaster, Cody Martin (Martin Ag Radio Network, Deer Trail, CO) said, “The answer is quite simple, I was born into it.” His parents, who both grew up on a farm, started into radio in the late ‘60s when 45 rpm records and reel- to-reel tape were state-of-the-art.
A series of 16 wildfires that initially began October 8, have consumed large areas of California’s wine growing regions in Yuba, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Butte and Lake counties, reports Brian German (Multi-Media Journalist, AgNet Media, Inc., Fresno, CA). More than 210,000 acres have burned in total, destroying approximately 8,400 structures as of October 25, Brian said.
Tony Purcell (Texas State Networks, Dallas, TX) reports that Hurricane Harvey made landfall August 25, between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, TX, as a Category 4 storm with winds of 130 mph. “In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain as the slow-moving storm meandered over east Texas causing catastrophic flooding. 
First reports of Florida crop damage from Hurricane Irma were conservatively estimated at about 50 percent crop loss, but Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam stated he thinks it is more in the 80-plus percent crop loss range, reports Gary Cooper (Southeast AgNet Radio Network, Gainesville, FL). “Citrus damage was in all citrus growing areas, both east and west coast.
The Farm Progress Show comes to Illinois every other year, and this was the year for me to return to my roots,” 2002 NAFB President Colleen Callahan said. “Thanks to Max Armstrong (2017 NAFB President) for giving me the opportunity to work together on the ADM stage. It must be like riding a bike,” she said. 
Liz Brown (KOEL-AM, Oelwein, IA) was raised in northeast Iowa in a small farming town by a single mom and three older brothers. “Stepping up and doing what you should is not a suggestion, it’s the unwritten rule. That’s how my journey began,” she says.
Jared White (WHOW/WEZC, Clinton, IL) serves as Station Manager of WHOW and WEZC as well as farm broadcaster for the Miller Media Group radio stations in Clinton and Taylorville, IL. Jared has been in the farm broadcasting position since May 2010 and has been an NAFB member since then.