Tayla Lynn, granddaughter of Loretta Lynn
Brent Adams marked a new chapter in his career in January with the launch of Fastline Fast Track, a weekly radio show and biweekly podcast featuring ag industry newsmakers, farm equipment talk, rural lifestyle features, and a country music segment recorded at the legendary Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, Tennessee. Adams serves as host and executive producer of the Buckner, Kentucky-based show, which launched January 3 as a podcast. It featured a two-part interview with American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. Other notable figures who have appeared on the show include USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston, and noted ag economist and national columnist David Widmar. Since its inception, Adams has taken the show nationwide, with stops at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky; Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida; 3i Show in Dodge City, Kansas; and the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. Later this year, the show will make stops in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, and back to Texas. Fastline Fast Track launched its first weekly radio show Saturday, May 4, on WOCC-FM/AM in Corydon, Indiana, and currently is working to expand its network nationwide.
Before coming to Fastline, Adams spent eight years as editor of The Southeast Outlook, based in Louisville, Kentucky. He joined Fastline Fast Track’s parent company, Fastline Media Group LLC, in August 2018, as director of content. In that role, he created the Fastline Fast Track concept, which is expanding to include video projects and a strong social media presence, including a live-streaming weekly show. Also, he serves as content editor and producer for the company’s Fastline and Big Ag print publications, which are distributed nationwide.
“This has been a unique venture,” Adams said of the creation of the Fastline Fast Track brand and the expansion into print and broadcast content for Fastline, which was established in 1978 as a farm-equipment catalog. “And 41 years later, that business continues strong, but Fastline saw an opportunity to provide people who know and trust the brand with content that helps them save time and money, make more money, and understand hot-button ag industry issues. The country-music angle was an added feature that provides entertainment to the listener and creates new opportunities for artists to reach listeners in rural America and beyond.”
Adams spent his formative years in Holmen, Wisconsin, and Jasper, Indiana, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University with a BA in mass communication and media studies and a minor in digital audience management. He also holds an AS in journalism from Indiana University. He began his career as a sports editor with The Seymour Tribune and later held that position with the New Albany Tribune. He went on to become a writer and editor with Business First of Louisville and with the Indianapolis Business Journal. His radio experience includes a five-year stint as a producer for Summit Media Louisville, which includes stations WQNU-FM, WVEZ-FM, WRKA-FM, and WSFR-FM.
Adams’ work in Nashville as a social media coordinator and publicist with entertainment public relations firm Hart Street Entertainment, public relations director with the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree Association, and public relations chairman with the nonprofit Vetlinx Community Partnership for Veterans organization opened the door to connections that made the country music segment of Fastline Fast Track possible. He has a passion for bringing traditional country music back to the airwaves and taking it directly to America’s farmers and ranchers.
of Farmers Edge at Commodity Classic
As mentioned, Adams grew up in the heart of dairy country in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, where he lived surrounded by farms and learned to appreciate the hard work and dedication of farmers. His family later moved to Dubois County, Indiana, which boasts a booming poultry industry. There he learned more about the industry as many of his classmates’ families were row-crop farmers and raised hogs, cattle, and turkeys. His summers in high school and college were spent bailing hay on a horse farm, where he learned the value of hard work and perseverance.
Today, he has the unique opportunity to live out his love of broadcasting by melding his interest in agriculture with his business journalism experience and his passion for country music to produce an informative and entertaining show that has rapidly earned the respect of ag industry leaders and the country music industry alike.
“I am excited to be working in agriculture,” Adams said. “Every day I get to learn from the people in the chain responsible for producing much of the food we eat and the materials used to clothe us. They are unsung heroes who face a myriad of challenges that many people in society are unaware of. We want to work to educate the public so their work isn’t taken for granted by lawmakers and consumers alike. We want farmers and ranchers and others who drive the industry to have a voice, and we want listeners to be informed and entertained.”
Adams added he is excited about being a part of NAFB because he looks forward to connecting with, and learning from, industry veterans.
“There is such a wealth of ag knowledge among the membership, and I hope I can tap into that in ways that will help me constantly improve and evolve as a broadcaster,” Adams said. “I want to create something of value that people in the industry look to as a credible, go-to source for insight — where they can leave each episode informed and entertained and eagerly looking forward to the next episode.”
