NAFB Blog

After more than a decade-long hiatus, DeLoss Jahnke returned to farm broadcasting in 2013 at WMBD-WIRL (Peoria, IL). “It was baptism by fire hosting long- and short-form programs, but it was wonderful to be back in the profession I’ve always enjoyed.” Then in 2015, DeLoss said, “I was fortunate to join Rita Frazer at Illinois Farm Bureau and the RFD Radio Network. 

When asked how he ‘came to fame’ as a farm broadcaster, Cody Martin (Martin Ag Radio Network, Deer Trail, CO) said, “The answer is quite simple, I was born into it.” His parents, who both grew up on a farm, started into radio in the late ‘60s when 45 rpm records and reel- to-reel tape were state-of-the-art.

A series of 16 wildfires that initially began October 8, have consumed large areas of California’s wine growing regions in Yuba, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Butte and Lake counties, reports Brian German (Multi-Media Journalist, AgNet Media, Inc., Fresno, CA). More than 210,000 acres have burned in total, destroying approximately 8,400 structures as of October 25, Brian said.

Tony Purcell (Texas State Networks, Dallas, TX) reports that Hurricane Harvey made landfall August 25, between Port Aransas and Port O'Connor, TX, as a Category 4 storm with winds of 130 mph. “In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain as the slow-moving storm meandered over east Texas causing catastrophic flooding. 

First reports of Florida crop damage from Hurricane Irma were conservatively estimated at about 50 percent crop loss, but Florida Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam stated he thinks it is more in the 80-plus percent crop loss range, reports Gary Cooper (Southeast AgNet Radio Network, Gainesville, FL). “Citrus damage was in all citrus growing areas, both east and west coast.