Airing on the Side of Agriculture

Zimcomm New Media Travels to Italy

The @AgriBlogger and @FarmPodcaster (aka Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman) had the opportunity to visit Expo Milano 2015 in Italy during September with New Holland Agriculture and farmers and ag journalists from around the world. The Expo is the current version of the World’s Fair. This was Chuck’s third visit as part of the New Holland Expo sponsorship. The New Holland “Heroes and Bloggers Days” included nine of the ten farmers chosen by the company to represent agriculture in their “Seeds of Life” series display at the Sustainable Farm Pavilion at the expo. The farmers came from Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Russia, and South Africa – with two from Italy.

The Truth About Wheat

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission teamed with OETA-TV (Oklahoma Educational Television Authority) to produce a 30-minute TV show, The Truth About Wheat. Ken Root (Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Dyersville, IA) was contacted by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and Jim Reese, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture to serve as moderator for the informational broadcast.

Large Cotton Crop Expected in Texas

​Producers are expecting the largest cotton crop since 2010 this year if weather continues to cooperate, reports Tony St. James (All Ag Network, KDDD and KFLP, Floydada, TX). The Texas High Plains is the largest cotton growing region in the United States, and Lubbock is the hub of activity. Cotton farmers are expected to start defoliating in early October, which begins the harvest process. 

WYXY Intern

 Nicole Chance is a sophomore studying agricultural communications at University of Illinois. This past summer, she worked as an intern for Gale Cunningham (WYXY-FM, Champaign, IL). About Gale, Nicole said. “His passion for the agriculture industry is one that is hard to put into words. His unceasing dedication to FFA and 4-H clubs is just the beginning of many contributions he has made to the youth in both Illinois and Indiana.” Nicole continued, “Gale cares about each and every one of the people he interviews and his goal is to provide content that will allow listeners to be excited and encouraged about the industry they represent.”

Jahnke Leads Tour To Germany and Austria

In September, Pam Jahnke (WOZN/Q106 Radio, Madison, WI) led a 33-member group on a 10-day tour of local farms in Germany and Austria. Most of the tour participants were either still actively farming, retired farmers or people that grew up on a farm. 

Past NAFB President Addresses Ag Seniors Group

Janet Adkison, NAFB Past President, and Washington Bureau Chief for RFD-TV and Rural Radio, spoke September 21 to the Ag Seniors luncheon meeting held at the national headquarters of the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington, DC.

Truitt Celebrates 31 Years Covering Indiana State Fair

Gary Truitt (Hoosier Ag Today Network, Zionsville, IN) spent much of August at the Indiana State Fair, but this is not unusual, he has been doing it for the past 31 years.  Founder of the statewide radio network Hoosier Ag Today, Gary attended his first State Fair in 1985. "I was in a trailer parked just outside the swine barn doing my broadcasting over a telephone line," he remembers. “This was before satellites and the Internet so there was literally a copper wire that ran to almost every radio station in the state that carried my live reports.” Today, Gary and his team of HAT reporters use wireless technology to produce and distribute digital audio reports to their network. He’s been an eyewitness to the transformation of the fair over the past three decades.

Jim Dewey Represents NAFB Broadcasters On Recent Trade Mission To China And Vietnam

The United Soybean Board (USB) completed its annual summer See for Yourself trade mission to China, which for the first time also included Vietnam. Ten soybean growers from around the country were joined by three USB board members and USB staff along with two ag media representatives, a print journalist and STARadio Farm Director Jim Dewey (WTAD, Quincy, IL). The trip began with a visit to a DuPont facility in St. Louis, MO, on July 30. The group departed the next morning on an early flight to Chicago followed by a 14-hour non-stop trip to Shanghai, China. The Shanghai visit included a trip to a fish farm and a visit from the Deputy Director of the U. S. Consulate Agriculture Trade Office in Shanghai, Zach Henderson. 

STARadio Intern

Tom Donley is a product of Adams County, IL, where he graduated from Unity High School in Mendon. He is studying journalism at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Tom worked with Jim Dewey (WTAD, Quincy, IL) for a couple of weeks during the winter semester break and returned as an intern this summer. “All summer long I have been prepping Tom to cover for me while I traveled to Asia with the United Soybean Board See for Yourself tour.

Carah Hart Joins Red River Farm Network

She began her duties August 31. “Carah will be a huge asset to the Red River Farm Network (RRFN). She is an excellent farm broadcaster and will be a wonderful addition to our organization,” said Mike Hergert, RRFN President, who served as NAFB President in 2001. Carah joins Mike, Don Wick and Randy Koenen.

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