“February has been the coldest month on record for most of the Northeast. Many places across the region have endured record snowfall as well,” reports Tom Cassidy, (Ag Radio Network, Inc., Barneveld, NY). “Locally, we haven't seen a temperature above freezing since January 28, and there are none in the forecast. Snow can be moved, pushed or piled but there isn't much one can do to prepare for the wicked, bitter cold,” he added. “Water freezing has been a big problem on farms. Many places have had to dig for new water lines (and then insulate them) to their water source.” Fire companies are trucking water to some farms; bulk milk trucks are back-hauling water to others. Rural municipalities are having record numbers of water and sewer main breaks and frozen service entrances. “These cold temperatures are a true testament to the hardiness of farmers,” Tom said. “Livestock need to be fed, milked, cleaned up after and cared for, not to mention the extra work required in the deep freeze like equipment that doesn't want to work and snow to move.”

The 2015 Pennsylvania Farm Show, January 9-16, drew an estimated 700,000 people, reports Dave Williams (Pennsylvania Farm Country Radio Network, Honesdale, PA). The majority of the attendees were not farmers, but consumers wanting a better understanding of where their food comes from, he added. The show offers the farming community of Pennsylvania the opportunity to help the general public gain a much better understanding of modern production agriculture.

The New Year brought two new staff members to the farm department at KRVN, Jesse Harding (front) and Trey Blomenkamp. They both hit the ground running through producing reports and traveling the coverage area to meetings and conventions.

A blog from National Western Stock Show (NWSS) describes Brian Allmer’s (Brian Allmer Radio Network, Briggsdale, CO) work as the voice of Stadium Arena Cattle Shows. For the third year, Brian was the "official announcer" for all cattle shows in the stadium arena during the 2015 NWSS in Denver, January 10-25. The 16-day show serves as an entertainment arena, hosting one of the world’s richest regular season, professional rodeos, the “super bowl” of livestock shows, nationally recognized horse shows and Colorado’s largest Western Trade Show.

NAFB will be attending the National Cattleman's Beef Association trade show (February 4-6, 2015) and Commodity Classic (February 26-28, 2015). We will have a booth at both shows, and driving show traffic to our booth using a pre-show direct mail. Our goal is to connect trade show attendees with NAFB member stations offering farm programming in their area. And, ask a few questions about radio usage as well.

We are well into the new year...how many have kept up on their new years resolution? I joked that mine was not to make any and take it week by week as what I saw as important goals to accomplish and so far I can say I have done that!

John Phipps announced on the final show in September that the program is transitioning to a new host. Tyne Morgan will take over the helm starting this weekend. Morgan said, “John will still be on the show each week; he’s just doing so from his farm.

Meghan Grebner (Brownfield Ag News, Fishers, IN) returned August 22 from travel with a group of young farmers to Panama and Ecuador to see their soybean checkoff dollars at work. The annual See For Yourself Tour is sponsored by the United Soybean Board. Participants represented a variety of agricultural regions, but shared at least one common bond – soybeans. To put this in perspective, Meghan said, “A recent study from Texas A&M showed that for every $1 that goes into the soybean checkoff, a farmer sees a $5.20 return on investment.”

Over the next several months Airing on the Side of Agriculture will be highlighting the 2014 student interns at NAFB member stations and networks. The internships are made possible through the NAFB Foundation and a generous donation from DuPont Pioneer.