Mike Austin (WTAQ-AM/FM and WDEZ, Green Bay, WI) shared this story about how agriculture and a thankful boy generated help for sick children. Mike begins, “At this year’s Kewaunee County Fair sale, the buyers were very generous in opening up their wallets with prices sometimes reserved only for state fair bidding, as one youth received over $9 a pound for her steer, another boy received more than $17 a pound for his hog, and one lamb brought $30 a pound.” Mike added, “The junior livestock auction at the county fair is always a special event as area agribusinesses and associations pay well above market value to help support and reward youth for their quality livestock project animals.

KICD Radio (Spencer, IA) is celebrating 50 years of service and entertainment this year. The station was one of the first AM signals in northwest Iowa in 1942 and KICD-FM was one of the first FM signals in 1966. Because of that heritage, both stations have a strong regional listenership in nine northwest Iowa counties and three in southwest Minnesota.

Dave Niedfeldt (KWBE-AM, Beatrice, NE) joined the staff in August 1987, and was named Farm Director in 1988, to cover agricultural news on the local, state and national level. A member of NAFB for 13 years, he has received numerous awards and honors from The Nebraska Associated Press Broadcasters, Great Plains Broadcast Association, the Nebraska Broadcasters Association, and the Nebraska Dairy Association.

It's hard to believe summer is winding down, and we are heading towards fall and harvest! As we head into fall, that means more national events are coming up like Farm Progress Days and World Dairy Expo. I'm pleased to announce a new service from your organization that was an idea from a broadcast member. Under the News Service Tab, look for Coverage Opportunities. This will be a place to match up broadcasters covering an event with broadcasters looking for coverage from an event. All you have to do is e-mail Tom Brand, offering to cover an event or looking for event coverage, and it will be posted to the page. Check the page often and if there is something you are offering to cover or need coverage of, you will be able to contact that broadcaster directly and work out the arrangement between the both of you. Tom is hoping to have the page done in a forum type in the future so you will be able to post directly to the page. As time goes on, we may expand to include broadcasters looking for a vacation fill-in or other temporary needs. I hope you find this page useful.

Terry Loomis is both General Manager of KQLX AM/FM and Farm Director. Mick Kjar is Farm Director and Host of Farm Talk. Terry said, “In November 1984, KQLX AM-890 hit the air in Lisbon, ND. In April 1986, KQLX FM 106.1 went on the air. Ag News 890 was dedicated to the farming community with local agriculture news, as well as being one of the first affiliates of the American Ag Network.