Airing on the Side of Agriculture

When Bill “Tell” Zortman was asked how Selma, Alabama, should mark the 30th anniversary (March 1995) of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches, he knew the moment demanded more than a ceremonial program. National media was already arriving, and the way the town was represented would matter long after the cameras left.

Lacey Shippy’s broadcasting career began long before college or job titles. It started at age 14, when she was hired with a handshake at a local radio station and spent Friday nights running the board for high school football games.

 Eliza Petry did not set out to become a television news anchor. Her path began on a grain farm in northern Illinois, where agriculture was not a career concept but a way of life.

“I grew up on a grain farm up in northern Illinois,” Petry says. “I just naturally had a passion for ag, just like any other farm kid.”

As the dairy industry continues to expand and grow throughout the United States, Farm and Ranch Media is launching a dedicated daily program discussing all aspects of the dairy industry. Inside Dairy officially launched on January 5, 2026, as a new program, under its longstanding American Ag Network brand and hosted by FARM/AAN broadcaster Susan Littlefield. The program features interviews with dairy industry professionals, dairy market commentary, innovations in the dairy industry and much more.

In January 2026, NAFB President DeLoss Jahnke wrote a column for Radio World, where he described the connection that farm broadcasters make every day with farmers and ranchers.

In the column, he tells the story of how farm broadcasters break through the noise every day with trust and relevancy to reach farmers, ranchers and rural audiences.

For Anita Vanderwert, agriculture has never been a phase or a profession—it has been a lifelong calling shaped by family, experience and service. Raised in Missouri’s cattle community, Vanderwert grew up learning the industry from the ground up, spending her formative years alongside her parents in barns, show rings and pastures across the Midwest.

Growing up in a family deeply rooted in agriculture, Sydney Septer was introduced to the industry at an early age. Raised on an acreage in southern Iowa, she began her agricultural journey through a cow-calf operation, raising Angus cattle as part of her FFA supervised agricultural experience.

Growing up on a corn and soybean farm in central Ohio, Maci Carter was immersed in agriculture from a young age. From delivering meals to the field with her mom to riding in the cab of a tractor with her dad, agriculture was part of everyday life.

C.J. Miller
Assistant News Director
Hoosier Ag Today/Michigan Ag Today

When did you join NAFB? 
I have been an NAFB member since 2022.