“Water is the number one concern in California,” reports Don York (KMJ, Fresno, CA). “Even with recent El Nino generated storms, there is much worry in the San Joaquin Valley about how much water will be available for farmers in 2016. For now, most farmers have to make use of groundwater pumping to irrigate their crops if they want to stay in business. New deep wells are very expensive to drill and could take more than a year of waiting before drilled because of long waiting lists.” Looking ahead, Don said, “This year could bring some relief in the form of surface water deliveries if more snow melts off into the rivers down to the reservoirs.” Don covers a wide range of other stories for a live weekday hour-long farm report on KMJ radio. “I broadcast to about a third of the state, thanks to our powerful AM signal.
The KMJ Farm Report is a business show is designed to inform listeners about anything involving water and the drought, new government regulations, new technology, export opportunities, consumer buying trends, along with all sorts of other issues that might have an impact on farmers and ranchers.” He adds, “I also consider myself a source of upcoming events, including UC Extension Field Days and private industry gathering. More than just the dates, I try to bring interviews to help growers and ranchers know more about those events.” Coming from an Air Force family, Don spent most of his early years moving around the country from the East Coast to Northern California. He studied broadcast journalism and theater arts at Sacramento State University. Don began his broadcast career in Sacramento as an intern at a newstalk radio station. He was a reporter in New Mexico at two television stations where he won several journalism awards and covered his first farm and ranch stories, which included immigration and federal grazing lease issues. He moved to Fresno, CA, in 1995, to help launch Valley Ag News at KMPH-TV, a FOX affiliate, and was able to anchor, report and produce. Don was honored by the Fresno County Farm Bureau for journalism in 1996. Starting in 1998, he worked as news reporter and producer at a local CBS affiliate where he continued to report on agriculture stories. Starting in 2001, Don worked as a commercial producer for the next 11 years. In 2012, Don was back on the air reporting California farm news on a statewide radio network. Then in 2013, Don was hired by KMJ radio in Fresno to serve as the station’s Ag News Director and to host a daily hour-long farm report.
