NAFB Blog

Tom Brand, NAFB Executive Director, reminds members Gene Hemphill has had a connection to NAFB members since the 1980s. “From his time working for Secretary John R. Block at USDA, to a career at Ford and New Holland, to serving on the NAFB Foundation Board of Directors, Gene has been a great friend to many in our association,” Brand said. 

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and partners dedicated a plaque to honor former Illinois Director of Agriculture and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block on April 22, 2019. 

On a bus traveling from the lowlands of Ecuador toward the Quito airport, Carah Hart (Red River Farm Network, Grand Forks, North Dakota) reflected on her trip. “It has been one great week reporting agriculture’s business. Looking out the window, there’s the lush green vegetation of a cloud forest. The climate is warm and humid. My hair has gone from straight to frizzy. I also smell like bug spray, sweat and dirt,” Hart noted. “Telling the story of local farmers intertwining in Ecuadorian agriculture was the opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. In January, Hart joined 12 members of the Red River Valley Ag Peer Group for a weeklong tour of the country.

Susan Littlefield (KRVN Rural Radio Network, Surprise, Nebraska) provided this update from recent flooding in her state: “From a blizzard in the western half of Nebraska to flooding in the eastern half of the state, a lot of man-hours were spent on news coverage and volunteering. Cattle producers were trying to dig cattle out of snow drifts and account for animals, as cattlemen in the east watched flood waters take away their livelihood.  For many, the watches and warnings came so fast it was hard to get livestock moved to higher ground.

For well over a decade, Farm Broadcaster Joel Heitkamp of North Dakota has given agriculture and rural issues a significant platform on his live, three-hour radio program, News and Views. “For his work in elevating the issues facing family farmers, ranchers, and their communities, National Farmers Union (NFU) awarded Heitkamp with the 2019 Milt Hakel Agriculture Communications Award.