Snow storm Jonas made national news for its inconvenience to travelers. In fact, NAFB Vice President Tom Cassidy (Ag Radio Network, Barneveld, NY) had to spend an extra day in Platte City, MO, after attending his first NAFB Board meeting. Tom reports, “The storm covered just shy of one-third the U.S. population in 26 states from Maine to Louisiana. Jonas dumped the most snow on the Mid-Atlantic, starting Friday, January 22, leaving behind 20 to 40 inches in areas not accustomed to receiving that much snow in a season, let alone two days.” He added, “Major transportation was back in service by Tuesday, but many rural areas were still snowed in on Thursday. Farmers in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania were challenged the most.” There was plenty of warning for the snow so folks were as prepared as they could be. “But you can't move the snow until it has fallen, and there were a few tragic stories of barn collapses, but the biggest trouble came in the form of spilled milk as tank trucks were unable to get to farm lanes. Many county roads were delayed with snow removal, and farmers and their neighbors used heavy equipment to get rid of the snow. Dairy farms were mostly back to shipping milk by Wednesday. Sale barns saw shallow deliveries of steers, and prices were high as a result all week. Packers had light runs due to worker absence early in the week.” He continued, “Now they have trouble getting their local contracts delivered and have been sourcing cattle from the Eastern Corn Belt, trucking them from as far away as Indiana. Warmer weather and more melting gives the expectation that things will be back to normal by early February.” In other news, Tom said, “This is the 40th year of existence for Ag Radio Network. We are very proud of what Holly’s parents created 
(Ed Slusarczyk, 2002 NAFB Hall of Fame and 1985 Farm Broadcaster of the Year), the business we have built, and the future we are creating.” At right, 24-inch snowfall in Northern Virginia outside the editor’s front door.
