In the late 1980s, Ken Root (Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Dyersville, IA) left farm broadcasting to be the Executive Director of the National AgriChemical Retailers Association (NARA) as an offshoot of American Cyanamid Company. “My board of directors was made up of 35 fertilizer and agricultural chemical dealers from across the country. One director was from Georgia.

About two years ago, Todd Whelan bought KDHN Radio Station in Dimmitt, TX. Todd is proud to report that his station is now an NAFB member station. Todd is a veteran farm broadcaster with 34 years’ experience in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Michigan, and Iowa.

Rick Haines (KMON, Great Falls, MT) reports that spring has finally come to the Salmon River Valley after what even the old timers called a harsh winter.  “As you see from the picture, things are greening up, and I currently have two mating pair of geese, two otters, thousands of birds including the Western Meadow Larks and Robins, Hungarian Partridge and elk, deer and bear to join me as I do radio from my front porch!” 

Rusty Halvorson recently marked 20 years at the American Ag Network (Fargo, ND). His broadcasting career is rooted in family tradition. As a young boy, Rusty sat beside his father, Lee, in the sports broadcast booth and watched as his dad announced countless radio play-by-play broadcasts across North Dakota.

Have you been to Washington lately? Some of you routinely travel there, especially to accompany farm organizations on their D.C. visits this time of year. And I have found those trips to be good experiences in that they can bring you closer to your farmers and to lawmakers in Washington. With a Farm Bill to be written a few months down the road, there are a lot of views being shared, and that means a lot of news for your broadcasts.