Airing on the Side of Agriculture

Patrick Cavanaugh (California Ag Today Radio Network, Clovis, CA) reports on the California water woes. “Throughout the vast farming areas of California’s  Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, intense concern and anxiety are growing over the lack of water for the critical irrigation of permanent crops such as almonds, walnuts, pistachios, tree fruit and citrus,” he said. Patrick speaks with farmers every day about what looks like a slow-moving crisis on the farm. California is in its fourth year of drought with the last two years being extremely tough on growers in many areas of California that depend on promised Federal surface water deliveries to their farms. Instead of flowing southward to help farms and cities, excess water is being diverted from the Sacramento Delta area to the Pacific Ocean to protect the Delta Smelt, a three-inch fish listed by the Endangered Species Act.

Sarah Heinrich is featured in a Women in Ag series written by the Pinke Post, and posted November 2. Katie Pinke (Wishek, ND) writes the blog.

Congratulations to all of the 2014 NAFB Award Winners. Awards were handed out during the recent 71st NAFB Convention held in Kansas City, MO, November 12-14, 2014.

Rose Marie Lawrence and her husband, Everett, celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in late October. Rose Marie retired from NAFB two years ago, but she still comes back to help with the Annual NAFB Convention. You can congratulate her in person at this year’s convention. She was hired by Ken Root in 2003.

As Carrie Muehling celebrates 10 years as Agribusiness Director at WJBC (Bloomington, IL), this month, she reports on a unique Moms Tour. “This fall it has been fun to ride along with area farmers as they bring in a record harvest of corn and soybeans. One of those opportunities came with McLean County farmers, Gerald and Tyler Thompson (father/son), as they hosted a group of local moms who are part of the Illinois Farm Families program.” Illinois Farm Families began this program a few years ago with Chicago-area field moms, and while that original program continues, others have popped up all over the state.

Ken Root was part of a small delegation that traveled to South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia in October to look at investing in farm land. Underwritten by People's Company, a farm real estate firm based in Des Moines, IA, Ken was accompanied by a videographer and an investment analyst. Trip video will be used at the January 23 Land Investment Expo in Des Moines. Ken’s group was shown several farms by Koos DeKlerk, general manager of Emvest Investments, and Susan Payne, Executive Chairman of Emvest Investments.

KICD/KLLT Radio hired Ben Maurer for a 10-week internship this past summer. “Ben assisted us in the news, weather and farm departments. He traveled with our farm broadcasters, Dan Skelton and Troy Leininger, to some of the county fairs this summer, and he conducted interviews with 4-H’ers showing at the fair,” reports Kevin Tlam, Operations Manager of KICD. Ben is in his senior year at South O’Brien High School and plans to attend Iowa Lakes Community College.

Haylie Shipp (Northern Ag Network, Miles City, MT) has accepted a full-time position with her hometown radio station, KLTZ/KLAN (Glasgow, MT) while remaining a part of Northern Ag Network and on their regional airwaves in Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota weekly. She will host a daily "tradio" program, managing a number of the station's sales accounts, and doing some voice-tracking. “Outside of that, they've given me the flexibility to start any and all ag programs I want on the stations,” she said.  “As an affiliate of Northern Ag Network, the stations will continue to carry those programs, but I'll now have the opportunity to make this station even more of a financial and agricultural powerhouse.

54 years and counting is the latest benchmark for Orion Samuelson, reports his longtime colleague, Max Armstrong. “As I continue with him on the Saturday Morning Show broadcast (the hour-long weekly show on WGN Radio), I have been heard on WGN every week for nearly 37 years,” Max reports. “Every few weeks, when Orion is in Arizona, I originate that entire hour from my home studio south of Raleigh, where Linda and I bought a horse farm this year.”

Business and families can be a toxic mix especially for husband and wife partners who find it nearly impossible to separate business from their personal lives, but Susan Allen, co-owner with husband, Kelly, of the Ag Information Network points out, “Farmers and ranchers have been successful family business owners for generations.” She considers their company, Ag Information Network, much like a working cattle ranch with each family member contributing in areas they are gifted.