NAFB Blog

For Rural Radio Network Multimedia Producer Alex Makovicka, a career in farm broadcasting wasn’t the result of a single defining moment. It was the natural extension of a life rooted in agriculture, curiosity, and community.

Makovicka grew up on a cow–calf operation in central Nebraska, where agriculture was woven into daily life. 

For Jace Green, agriculture isn’t just a major—it’s a family legacy. A senior ag business student at Western Illinois University, Green grew up in Arthur, Illinois, a town surrounded by rich farmland and a large Amish community.

“My family has farmed there for generations,” he says. “It’s always been clear to me that agriculture was where I wanted to stay.”

For more than 25 years, Steve White has used his voice and his camera to tell the story of rural America.

For over four decades, Jeff Nalley has been a steadfast voice for rural America. As the farm director at Cromwell Ag Radio Network and a contributing editor for Agri-Pulse, Nalley has spent 43 years serving farmers, ag businesses and rural communities across Kentucky and beyond.

Born and raised on a farm, former USDA Agriculture Secretary John “Jack” Block’s early years were shaped by his deep connections with rural life and organizations such as the Future Farmers of America and, later, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Those connections remained strong throughout his tenure as agriculture secretary in the 1980s and beyond.