In May, NAFB scholarship winner Joel Penhorwood joined the staff at Ohio Ag Net (OAN) and Ohio’s Country Journal (OCJ) as a field reporter and farm broadcaster. He is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University (OSU) with a degree in Agricultural Communication. While at OSU, Joel was heavily involved in Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, serving as president for two years. The club won the Ed Johnson Outstanding Student Organization Award during his tenure, which recognized the top club in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Also, he has been a student member of NAFB and received the Glenn Kummerow Memorial Scholarship two years ago. Joel got his start in radio at the small-market station 98.3 WPKO and 1390 WBLL (“The Peak of Ohio”) in Bellefontaine before starting with OCJ and OAN as an intern in the fall of 2013. He has worked as the Ohio State Fair Swine Barn Announcer for a number of years. In addition to his work with OCJ and OAN, he stays busy on his family’s small hay, crop and livestock farm in Logan County, which he helps to operate alongside his brothers. He has worked on his extended families’ large dairy and grain operation.
About, Joel, Ty Higgins said, "Each year at the Ohio FFA Convention, we hire some student reporters to help us cover the event and really get a feel of what is happening there at the student level. Joel was one of our reporters in 2012. I could tell, even as Joel was a senior in high school, that he was well suited to be a farm broadcaster. He has a genuine love for the radio industry and in-depth knowledge about agriculture, which all adds up to a perfect combination for this business. He is going to do some great things throughout his career, and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for him."
IN HIS OWN WORDS – Joel said, "Farm broadcasting has a strong history in Ohio so coming from an agricultural family, I had always looked up to our farm broadcasters with a sense of awe and respect, like the rest of the farmers from my area. My interest in broadcasting and agricultural news in general truly took a step forward in high school when I started my own ag news podcast after bringing together enough cash from my job at the dairy to get a microphone, a voice recorder, a computer, and a bit of hope. My involvement in public speaking in FFA and my work as the high school morning announcements guy helped to give me the confidence to lend my voice to some news. In the final few weeks of my senior year, I took part in an FFA 'student reporter' program Ohio Ag Net had recently begun. Two other FFA members and I spent two days of Ohio FFA State Convention with the OAN staff, learning the ins and outs of reporting, and having a good time. Things took off from there after our hometown radio station, 98.3 WPKO and 1390 WBLL 'The Peak of Ohio,' named so for being situated at the highest point in Ohio, heard of my podcast and contacted me in regards to a summer internship in their newsroom.” Joel gladly accepted and found himself covering everything from local farm news to sports highlights, court appearances, and much more during that first summer of his radio career. "I began at The Ohio State University in the fall of 2012 majoring in agricultural communication with minors in ag business and aviation, another passion of mine.”
He began a new podcast centered on agricultural news across all of Ohio called Buckeye Agriculture. Along with other extracurricular activities at Ohio State, his podcast gained the attention of Bart Johnson at Ohio Ag Net. He contacted Joel in the fall of his sophomore year, offering him a part-time job and internship. "I immediately and gladly accepted his offer, jumping into work with Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net. The team began to teach me the unique business of a radio network and took me on as one of their own. Ty Higgins, Dale Minyo, and Bart Johnson each mentored me in their own unique ways in broadcasting business, agriculture, and life. Several seasons later, he graduated from Ohio State and accepted his full-time position with Ohio Ag Net & Ohio's Country Journal as a farm broadcaster and field reporter. “I consider it a true honor to be tapped to serve Ohio agriculture through this role,” Joel said. "I've also served as the head swine barn announcer for a couple of weeks each year during the Ohio State Fair. "Outside of work, I stay busy on my family's farm in northwest Ohio where, along with my two older brothers, we raise crops, hay, and livestock. I'm also always on the go with my Goshen Friends Church family.”
