“Telling the story of farmers, ranchers and their families is what I love most about farm broadcasting,” said Juli Mauch (KBMW, Wahpeton, WI). “With 18 radio stations in the Dakotas and Minnesota, being a part of the new Ag Central radio network gives me a great opportunity to do just that.” Juli grew up on a small family farm in southeast North Dakota. “I didn’t understand things like commodity prices, input costs, etc., but I did know that everyone in our small family played an important role in the success, and sometimes failures, of the operation.” Her favorite part of living on the farm was working cattle. “That may sound crazy, but I loved the ‘organized chaos’. It was a time when my whole family had to work together to get the job done. I heard my first cuss words working cattle and was quickly told that whatever words are said during cattle working time ‘don’t count’.” When a heifer was having trouble calving, her brother and Juli were allowed to watch the veterinarian conduct a c-section, but they had to sit quietly in the hay barn and watch through the floor boards. “It was the sitting quietly part that I had a hard time with.” After graduating from high school, she wanted to “go somewhere and be somebody.” Juli got a degree in broadcast journalism from Minnesota State University in Moorhead and was going places or so she thought. “I came back to KBMW AM 1450, our local radio station in Wahpeton, ND. I worked in advertising sales but just didn’t feel like I was making my mark so to speak. I took a break from radio for a while and got married and have three daughters. Two of them are in college and one in high school.” They live on her husband’s family farm and are fifth generation farmers. They farm corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. “Back in 2008, I began co-hosting the morning show on KBMW with a long-time colleague, Rollie Lipp. I continue to co-host the mornings with him, but my role has expanded now to Farm Director. Working with Terry Loomis and Mick Kjar at Ag Central has taught me so much about farm broadcasting. Being a part of NAFB and the resources that it provides has made my job so much easier!” She said, “I can’t imagine not being an NAFB member and being able to tell the story of agriculture to our listeners. The amount of mis-information/fake news that’s out there today about agriculture, farmers and their way of life is frustrating to see both from a farming perspective and a broadcaster perspective. I feel the best way for farmers to combat that is for me as a broadcaster tell their stories. Whether it’s a story about a farmer making their planting decisions for the coming year, or the farm wife whose running things behind the scenes, it’s all important in the operation and telling the story of their farm.” Concluding, she said, “So maybe I did ‘go somewhere and be somebody.’ I’m a farm wife, mother, horse owner, and farm broadcaster and love every minute of it because I don’t have to sit quietly.”
