During the recent NAFB Board of Directors Meeting in Washington D.C. the board approved Honorary NAFB Membership to two individuals who have contributed greatly to the business of Farm Broadcasting, and the U.S. agriculture industry. We welcome former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture 1989-1991, Clayton Yuetter and  retired President and CEO of Learfield Communications, Clyde Lear.

Greetings from the childhood home of Laura Ingells Wilder! I hope spring planting has been going well for your producers.

Your NAFB staff has had a busy few months since we last visited. In April, NAFB staff, along with other NAFB broadcasters attended the annual NAMA Convention in Kansas City. Staff was very busy talking with agricultural marketers about the NAFB Research, and there is excitement among agri-marketers about the research and what it means for upcoming media buys. If you have any questions about the research or how to go about using it at your shop, please call Mindy at the NAFB Office.    

It’s been one year since Brownfield Ag News expanded its on-the-ground coverage into Michigan and Minnesota. Nicole Heslip and Mark Dorenkamp are the newest Brownfield reporters in those two states. Michigan anchor/reporter Nicole Heslip says the year has been full of change.

Mike Hansen, long time employee of RFD-TV retired effective May 1. Hansen has been in agricultural marketing and communications since 1974, having worked in both radio and television in a variety of roles. For the past 16 years, he has been with the Rural Media Group, first with RFD-TV and continuing when it added RURAL RADIO on SiriusXM Channel 147. 

“Firefighters grappling with the biggest wildfire in Kansas history got a welcome Easter assist from pre-dawn snow that blanketed the hardest-hit area,” reports Kelly Lenz (Kansas Agriculture Network/WIBW-AM, Topeka, KS). The National Weather Service says about half an inch of precipitation in rain and snow fell early Sunday (March 27) southwest of Wichita in Barber County.

Veteran farm broadcaster TODD WHALEN (KDHN, Dimmitt, TX) rejoined NAFB in March.  He purchased KDHN in June 2015. He had been an NAFB member earlier from 1983 to 2003. Todd grew up on a central Iowa corn and soybean farm and raised purebred Suffolk sheep as his FFA project.

Congratulations to Ben Nuelle, Farm Broadcaster with Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Des Moines, Iowa. Ben was awarded The Doan during 2016 National Ag Day Celebrations. Ben’s winning entry titled “Buried To The Neck” provides a first-person perspective on surviving a horrific grain bin entrapment. All farmers know the danger of becoming entrapped in grain, and very few survive.

Susan Allen of Ag Information Network of the West (Walla Walla, WA) reports KayDee Gilkey, ag news reporter for their radio network, “was selected out of all the hundreds of print, television and radio journalists who report on the cattle industry to receive the prestigious NCBA Excellence in Agricultural Journalism Award at the recent 2016 Cattle Industry Convention in San Diego.” She added, “Kay Dee was instrumental in educating cattlemen and women about issues impacting the cattle industry using her Open Range, Farm and Ranch Report and Colorado Ag Today daily radio programs. 

Happy February! We are another month closer to planting season, a very important time for all of our members, viewers and listeners. The NAFB staff has been busy “planting” seeds with farmers, ranchers and agribusiness leaders in January. During National Cattlemen’s Business Association (NCBA) show the staff met with farmers and ranchers promoting all of you. They used the NAFB Planner to help farmers find a local NAFB Station and talked with agribusiness leaders about how NAFB Members and their stations can help promote their businesses!