NAFB Blog

Davis Michaelsen (Farm Journal Broadcasting, Cedar Falls, IA) said, “I didn’t go to journalism or broadcasting school, but from an early age, I learned from my dad, who was a seasoned writer and farm broadcaster.”

Ag broadcaster Phyllis Parks, (WITY radio 980 AM and 99.5 FM in Danville, IL) is a Certified Public Accountant by profession, and she has a CPA firm, Daughhetee & Parks Management Consulting, PC, in Danville, IL. One of her clients is David Brown, owner of WITY radio.

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.