Madison Mackley recently joined the team at Rocking M Media as the farm director for the Kansas Farm and Ranch Radio Network (Colby, Kansas). This is her first job in broadcasting, working simultaneously as a farm broadcaster and still farming alongside her family.
Mackley grew up in the small northwest Kansas town of Winona and currently resides in Oakley, Kansas. She earned her BS in agronomy from Kansas State University in May 2018. After graduation, Mackley was the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent in Thomas County, Kansas, until September 2019, when she returned home to farm full-time with her family. In June 2020, former Farm Director Sara Miles reached out to her about the job opening, and Mackley joined the team in July 2020.
“Since joining this team, I’ve received nothing but support from all co-workers and the community. Everyone is understanding that I have no broadcasting background, and they are willing to work with me as well as work around my farming schedule. We’re gearing up for fall harvest now, so I’ll be spending most of my time creating my farm reports from the cab of my combine. I think it will add a neat perspective to the position and will allow me to be creative with what I’m reporting. I feel honored that they reached out to me for this position and are allowing me to have the flexibility to make it my own. It’s also kind of cool to be a voice on the radio station I grew up listening to. My dad still plays AM790 all the time, and it’s where I began to love all the classic country songs. Even in college, when I was making Spotify study playlists, classic country always seemed to be a top hit — especially Dolly.”
As the Mackley family gears up for harvest, they’re also pregnant-checking heifers and cows preparing for the upcoming calving season. As a family, they raise corn, wheat, milo, and feed as well as run an Angus cow-calf operation. There isn’t much time for an “off-season” for Mackley and her family, but it’s always a good time on the farm with her family. Calving season is one of her favorites, despite it being cold out.
When not at the station, you can find Mackley on the farm, playing with her two dogs, Maggie and Kelso, or hanging out with her niece and nephews. She is an avid Kansas State Wildcats fan and a big Green Bay Packers fan, so you can almost guarantee football is on the radio every weekend in the combine cab.
