Despite cold and snowy conditions in mid-December, farm broadcasters at RRFN (Grand Forks, ND) met the challenge. Mike Hergert said, “One thing about people who live here is they expect extreme weather and are prepared for it! The storms have been very well predicted and anticipated.

New NAFB member, Shanna Harris (KKOW, Pittsburg, KS) was born and raised in southeast Kansas. “I grew up on a farm where my dad had row crops and cows. Eventually, he sowed all the row-crop ground to grass and increased his cattle herd size.” Shanna emphasized, “I had a passion for agriculture early on. I loved being on the tractor or out in pastures with my dad.” 

J. Bryan McGarvey (Neuhoff Media, WKOA/WASK, Lafayette, IN) has received a grant from the U.S. State Department to assist in establishing Africa’s first 24-hour agricultural-focused radio station. Bryan was a mentor for the Mandela Washington Fellowship International Reciprocal Exchange Program, part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in 2016, in conjunction with Purdue University.

Merry Christmas! Wow, where has 2016 gone! It seems just like yesterday I was getting ready to head to Orlando for the American Farm Bureau Convention in January! The NAFB staff has been very busy since wrapping up convention. The staff has been working on the 2017 budget, preparing for a new supplemental research project and of course 2017 Washington Watch and Convention

​AgNet West farm news director Sabrina Hill was born just a few hours from the North Pole. North Pole, Alaska, that is. While she may be purely Californian now, every Christmas she channels some of her snowy beginnings, dons red velvet and white fur, and turns into Mrs. Claus.