NAFB Blog

The Rural Radio Network saw significant growth across its digital platforms in 2025, highlighting how farm broadcasters are expanding their reach beyond traditional radio.

Farm broadcasting legend Orion Samuelson, long-time member of NAFB and retired Emeritus, passed away March 16, 2026, at the age of 91. Samuelson would have been 92 years old on March 31.

When Bill “Tell” Zortman was asked how Selma, Alabama, should mark the 30th anniversary (March 1995) of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, he knew the moment demanded more than a ceremonial program. National media was already arriving, and the way the town was represented would matter long after the cameras left.

Lacey Shippy’s broadcasting career began long before college or job titles. It started at age 14, when she was hired with a handshake at a local radio station and spent Friday nights running the board for high school football games.

 Eliza Petry did not set out to become a television news anchor. Her path began on a grain farm in northern Illinois, where agriculture was not a career concept but a way of life.

“I grew up on a grain farm up in northern Illinois,” Petry says. “I just naturally had a passion for ag, just like any other farm kid.”