Airing on the Side of Agriculture

Looking Back On December Storm Goliath

Cattle losses from Goliath, the 2015 winter storm, could total more than 50,000 head across New Mexico and Texas Panhandle and South Plains, according to final estimates, reports Jerry Lackey (Agriculture Editor Emeritus for the San Angelo Standard-Times and Abilene Reporter-News and farm broadcaster emeritus for Voice of Southwest Agriculture Radio Network, San Angelo, TX. Jerry writes a regular newspaper column called Windmill Country.) “The blizzard arrived after Christmas and lingered for weeks with snow drifts as high as 14 feet in parts of eastern New Mexico and northwest Texas.

Boating To Work During December Flooding

​WGFA (Watseka, IL) General Manager Stacey Smith found boat transportation to be the most convenient way to get to work at the station during December flooding. Stacey said, “It's not uncommon to flood here. And unfortunately, the floods are getting more frequent and in some cases severe.” The history of Watseka is that it was founded by Native Americans and settled primarily due to the trapping industry with both the Iroquois River and Sugar Creek meeting in town. “We are also very low in elevation. Similar to a bowl. And we are in the center of it. Our county government is currently working on getting a Federal declaration for Iroquois County. 

California's Number One Concern

“Water is the number one concern in California,” reports Don York (KMJ, Fresno, CA). “Even with recent El Nino generated storms, there is much worry in the San Joaquin Valley about how much water will be available for farmers in 2016. For now, most farmers have to make use of groundwater pumping to irrigate their crops if they want to stay in business. New deep wells are very expensive to drill and could take more than a year of waiting before drilled because of long waiting lists.” Looking ahead, Don said, “This year could bring some relief in the form of surface water deliveries if more snow melts off into the rivers down to the reservoirs.” Don covers a wide range of other stories for a live weekday hour-long farm report on KMJ radio. “I broadcast to about a third of the state, thanks to our powerful AM signal.

When Is Retiring Not Retiring?

After 36 years with Kansas and Oklahoma Farm Bureaus, Sam Knipp retired September 29, 2015. “After a few days, I hungered for continuing advocating for agriculture. American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) offered me the opportunity to feed that urge. AFR has a 110-year history in Oklahoma as a general farm organization and insurance company servicing rural Oklahoma. Today, AFR has over 100,000 family members and is licensed to provide insurance in 24 states.

New Ag Network

Monte James is host of a new start-up radio network called Your Ag Network. He grew up on a ranch on the northern borders of the sprawling Sandhills of Nebraska. His family raised cattle and farmed the Niobrara River Valley in Keya Paha County. His radio career started at a small station in O’Neill, NE, doing everything from hosting the Polka Show to local news and markets. Monte’s “tour of duty” included stops at KSCJ (Sioux City, IA), where he served as morning show host and farm director. Then, he went on to WHO (Des Moines, IA) as part of the Marconi Award winning air-staff, as well as serving a lengthy stint at WNAX (Yankton, SD).

Hale Recognized For Service To Nebraska Agriculture

Howard Hale (KSIR, Minatare, NE) and Emily Pile are two western Nebraska residents who were recognized by The University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center for their decades of service to agriculture and Extension. The Service to Panhandle Agriculture Award was presented to Howard Hale and The Service to Panhandle Extension Award was presented to Elaine Pile of Gering, NE.

On Its 30th Anniversary, WRDN Hosts Reunion Of Former On-Air Personalities

On November 28, NAFB President Brian Winnekins, owner of WRDN Radio (Durand, WI) hosted a reunion of past staff members. Fifteen staff members dating back as far as 1972 joined Brian and Martha Gingras on air to reminisce about their time working at WRDN. Just like now, agriculture was an important part of the broadcast day at WRDN and many of the staff members remember having to fill in to do the Farm Report. For many of the former staff members, working at WRDN was a stepping stone to larger radio markets or new careers in television.

Rahjes Elected To Kansas Legislature

A special election to fill an unexpired term was held for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives on December 10 and Ken Rahjes (AgView.net) won the election. On January 11, he will become one of 125 members who will represent the constituents of the 110th District. Ken will continue to do three daily ag business reports to the affiliate radio stations in Kansas and Nebraska and will soon to be expanding to other states. He will also do daily updates on AgView.net and social media.

Fields Of White In West Texas

NAFB President Elect Tony St. James (KFLP/KDDD, Floydada, TX) said, “Fields of white are common across West Texas, especially in the fall, as cotton bolls open to reveal the Fabric of Our Lives. Unfortunately for some producers on the Texas High Plains (the largest growing region in the United States), late-planted cotton gave way to an ice storm in late November and a blizzard in late December turning the crop into a sea of red.” Tony explains, “Pressured by Chinese policy and reduced demand for cotton worldwide, prices have fallen below the cost of production leaving many producers upside down in 2015.

Winter Weather Impact on Texas Agriculture

Tony Purcell (Texas State Networks, Dallas, TX) said the blizzard in the Texas Panhandle had a major effect. “Movement of cotton and cattle to market came to a standstill. Fences were knocked down and a lot of cattle were loose and unaccounted for. At one point, about 20 head were tying up traffic on the main loop in Lubbock,” Tony said. There was not much in the way of death loss reported, but that may change as ranchers are able to get into the pastures,” he added. “The Dallas area basically experienced all four seasons in a four-day period. On December 25, it was 73 degrees and sunny. On December 26, it was 81 degrees with a massive tornado outbreak.

Pages