Farm broadcaster Michelle Rook is no stranger to farm television. It has been a part of her career since college. “I had the opportunity to do some television reporting for Ag Communications while I was a student at South Dakota State University. Since that time, I have always been doing some form of television reporting or on-air work, in tandem with my job in radio,” she says. She has had every experience in television serving as an editor, producer, anchor, meteorologist and reporter. Rook will be using those skills as the new anchor of AgWeek TV, a weekly syndicated farm television program seen on stations in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Canada. The show includes a variety of national and regional ag news, markets and weather. She started her new duties on April 30, in addition to remaining the Managing Farm Director and market reporter at WNAX Radio in Yankton, SD. Michelle has worked as a freelance reporter for AgWeek TV for the past year and a half and writes for AgWeek magazine, so the transition has been an easy one. “It was a logical move for me. It is a real pleasure to work on an award-winning show with such a great team of television professionals. Plus, I love showing and telling the story of the agricultural industry in this region,” she said. Michelle also continues as a regional reporter for syndicated AgDay and U.S. Farm Report television programs. Plus, she has her own video and communication business which includes consumer TV segments that help to tell the positive story of agriculture to the public. In addition, she produces commercials and long format videos for agriculture and other businesses. She has served as a meteorologist for KTIV-TV and KMEG-TV in Sioux City, IA, and KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls. She started out producing and hosting a weekly market program on South Dakota Public Television and followed that by producing and anchoring Today’s Ag, a weekly 30-minute ag news program on KELO-TV in Sioux Falls and KOTA-TV in Rapid City. Michelle is a past NAFB President, Farm Broadcaster of the Year and NAFB Horizon Award Winner. In 2015, she won the Doan for her excellence in ag reporting. Michelle grew up on a dairy and diversified crop farm in eastern South Dakota and was a state FFA officer and 4-H member.
