Red River Farm Network (Grand Forks, ND) intern Emma Maddock is wrapping up her first month with the network. RRFN received one of the annual internship grants from NAFB, and Carah Hart is her mentor. “I have been learning a lot at RRFN, working on a variety of projects within the first few weeks of my internship,” Emma said. “I pitch stories in our morning meetings and then contact farmers and ranchers to conduct interviews. I write those stories for the noon and morning live broadcasts.” Also, she travels with farm broadcaster Randy Koenen to report on Crop Watch, a weekly program where RRFN talks with farmers about their crops. “My job is to manage the social media portion of that program, including producing at least one Facebook Live broadcast. Learning how to create effective social media posts and captions has been a valuable skill,” she added. One of the most recent events she’s covered for RRFN is the North Dakota State FFA Convention. Later this summer, Emma will report from field days and other events in the Fargo, ND, area. She is a guest writer for the Northarvest Dry Bean Grower magazine, too. Emma will be a sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities this year.
She started college at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. “I enjoyed my first year at NDSU, but am transferring so I can double major in agricultural communications and marketing, as well as graphic design. I hope to utilize both degrees to someday work for an agricultural marketing or broadcast company.” Maddock is using her creativity to design logos, graphics and other materials for various RRFN projects. Maddock also enjoys traveling. She’s already been to Texas twice this year; first, for the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) conference and then for the NAMA conference where her presentation team took third place for their marketing plan. Emma connected with the Red River Farm Network at an ACT meeting, where farm broadcaster Carah Hart was speaking about a career in farm broadcasting. Maddock job-shadowed at RRFN in December. “We’re glad to have Emma on the team with us this summer,” said Hart. “She’s got a passion for agriculture, a natural curiosity to ask good questions and is very creative in graphic design.” While Maddock wasn't raised on a farm, agriculture and the National FFA Organization are a big part of her life. Her mother, Tamra Maddock, is the director of the North Dakota FFA Foundation. Her father, Robert Maddock, is an animal science professor at NDSU. “I have developed a love for agriculture by growing up within a family that represents many different parts of the industry,” said Maddock. Maddock will attend the NAFB annual convention in Kansas City. In the meantime, you can connect with her by sending a LinkedIn request.
