NAFB Blog

While many were preparing for a long holiday July 4th weekend, Red River Farm Network farm broadcaster Mike Hergert (Grand Forks, ND) spent the last week of June in central France on a Limagrain press trip. Founded in 1965, and managed by more than 2,000 French farmers, Limagrain Coop is the leading French seed manufacturer and the fourth-largest seed company worldwide. It is vertically integrated, from wheat and corn breeding, crop production, to milling and baking. A 26-member media delegation from nine countries participated in an exclusive Limagrain tour with Mike being the only U.S. journalist on the trip. 

After 17 years in radio, farm broadcaster Jody Heemstra is changing careers, returning to her home state to become Public Affairs Manager for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA) headed by Secretary of Agriculture Lucas Lentsch. Jody worked in radio in South Dakota for more than 15 years, before joining the Red River Farm Network (Grand Forks, ND) in August 2013. "I've had the chance to work with several great broadcasters and journalists during my radio career. 

Katie Johnson, this year’s summer intern at KICD Radio in northwest Iowa, took the station by storm, reports Dan Skelton. The Iowa State University senior enthusiastically responded to a wide variety of projects and work assignments. “Specifically, Katie learned to quote market information live, on-air, in an exact two-minute time frame. She also learned to write anf edit local and farm news for broadcast within time limitations. Katie conducted interviews in various formats. She learned to quiz traders on why markets were trading the way they were. She conducted long-form interviews on a variety of topics. Perhaps her favorite activity was interviewing 4-H youth at more than eight county fairs. 

Don Molino (Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-News Radio Network, Baton Rouge, LA) reports feral hogs have caused at least $30 million in damages to crops on Louisiana farms just in the past two years, according to a study by the Louisiana State University AgCenter. Shaun Tanger, LSU AgCenter economist, has been gathering data for more than a year from Louisiana farmers about hog activity and damage, which ranges from rooting up and eating crops to damaging farm equipment. Don adds, “Feral hogs can also spread fatal diseases to wildlife and livestock.” 

Little Ridge Dairy near Ontario, WI, hosted the 35th Vernon County June Dairy Month Breakfast on the Eirik and Cheryl Eness family farm on Saturday, June 20. The Vernon County, Wisconsin, Dairy Promotion Committee asked the Eness family to host this year's breakfast on what was, until 1963, the Samuelson dairy farm. Orion Samuelson (WGN Radio, Chicago, IL) was invited to attend and speak to the guests. Despite a light rain for the first two hours, 2,500 people showed up to see a modern dairy farm operation and enjoy a good farm breakfast, including ice cream. Orion said he was no stranger to inclement weather since there was a blizzard the day he was born that left 14 inches of snow on the ground. The doctor never made it to the farm in time for his birth and his aunt saved the day serving as a midwife.