Bobbi Jo Bergum, a junior at Purdue University and 2017 recipient of an NAFB scholarship, began her farm broadcasting journey in Wisconsin when she was a freshman in college, working for the Wisconsin Farm Report under Farm Director Pam Jahnke. Pam was a familiar voice in her home, being the farm broadcaster her former dairy farming parents still listened to regularly. Even though the southern Wisconsin farm was sold when she was nine years old, Bobbi Jo continued to be involved in 4-H and FFA with her equine projects and was encouraged by her farming community to consider a career that combined her interests in agriculture and communication. After being broken in by covering the Wisconsin State FFA Convention, Bobbi Jo knew she had found her passion and career path. During her six-month employment, she interviewed the Governor of Wisconsin and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, among many farmers, agriculturalists, dignitaries, and researchers. She also learned how to do market and news reports during the morning, midday, and close, often starting her day at 2:00 a.m. and taking her “afternoon nap” before the sun rose. Upon completion, Bobbi Jo continued to pursue her BS in agricultural communications at Purdue University, where she joined the Purdue Equestrian Team
and Sigma Alpha. She began a video series, The Rural Report, in her spare time that discusses agricultural topics on campus. This was her baptism into television. The summer following her sophomore year, she interned with the field reporting team at C-SPAN in Washington, DC, aiding the crew in equipment set-up, operation and take down. There she met senators, cabinet members, and news personalities. She discovered a love for television and the buzz of the Hill, but whenever she got a chance, she left the city for a weekend on her friend’s dairy farm in Maryland. Before returning to school, Bobbi Jo enlisted in the Indiana National Guard and will be shipping out to Basic Training soon. In the meantime, she is taking radio, television and writing courses for her degree, caring for her two horses near campus, involved in extracurriculars, and attending military drill weekends. Her hope is to one day join the ranks of the farm broadcasters she has come to know and admire.
