Airing on the Side of Agriculture

Cassie Olson is a senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is studying agricultural education with emphasis in leadership and communication and minors in animal science and mass communications. The daughter of Leonard and Jan Olson, she was born and raised on a dairy farm in Black River Falls, WI. When her family sold the dairy about a decade ago, she became active in FFA, which helped her stay involved with the dairy industry and agriculture. 

Leann Fox, senior agriculture communications at Utah State University, is serving as a public policy intern with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. She attended the NAFB convention in Kansas City and decided to become a student member. We met her in Kansas City and invited her to contact us when she began her assignment. Christine Quinn and I hosted her for dinner at the National Press Club in Washington. She applied and was selected for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s public policy internship. She has been in Washington, DC for almost a month now and has been doing research on the policy side of NCBA. In early February, she will attend the NCBA national convention in San Antonio. How did she find out about the NAFB? “My mentor, Dr. Kelsey Hall (Utah State University), has really been a guide for me on my professional path. She emailed me about the NAFB convention, and I knew I couldn’t pass that opportunity up. 

Anchor/Reporter Tom Steever (Brownfield Ag News, Jefferson City, MO) received the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Farm Broadcaster of the Year Award at the Governor’s Conference in December 2014. Also in December, Tom received the 2014 Excellence in Agriculture Award from the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and South Dakota Soybean Association.

Bruce Kayser (WSBT-AM/WHFB-FM, Mishawaka, IN) has announced that he will be retiring this year. He grew up in South Bend, IN, surrounded by corn and soybean fields. At the time, he never gave it much thought. His broadcasting career started in the early ‘70s as a part-time announcer at WSBT in South Bend. “In the mid-70s, I took a full-time position as a radio morning show host in Columbia, TN. Little did I realize this would be an introduction to the world of agriculture. At that time, growing tobacco was big business in the Middle Tennessee area. 

2015 is starting out very interesting, reports Tony Purcell (Texas State Networks, Dallas, TX). “First, we have a new Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. Sid Miller is a working farmer and professional roper.”

Growing Our Future to Harvest Our Success
Planning has already started for the next NAFB Convention, November 11-13, 2015. We are working on developing programming for all councils, including the Allied Industry, and Management and Sales.

IN THE MONTANA LEGISLATURE…his farm broadcasting skill  helps Taylor Brown (Northern Ag Network, Billings, MT) be a more effective Montana state senator.  He says he’s learned to “boil down” complex issues into a couple of paragraphs for his listeners and that experience equips him to better represent his citizens. “Because of mandated term limits, I am going into my fourth and final session in the Senate.  It will be my second session to Chair the Senate Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation Committee. Our sessions are limited to 90 days, every other year.  We start January 5 and go until the end of April.”  

The 2015 edition is on the wall in farm homes and broadcasters’ offices to help keep track of the new year. John Harvey reports, “The 2015 version is a great one, and my 2016 Classic Tractors Calendar is in the works. I've featured 82 different makes of tractors—and the beat goes on.” About NAFB, he said, “What a great group of busy, interesting personalities.