2007: Ag Year in Review
It has been quite a year and Brownfield Ag News has been busy bring those stories relevant to agriculture to you on your local Brownfield affiliate radio station, on our website and in our e-newsletter. Tom Steever has been busy in recent days, putting together an hour-long program "2007: Ag Year in Review."
Here's what Tom has to say about the program:
The year was historic because of the writing of new U.S. farm policy, which happens only twice each decade. While the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the 2007 farm bill early in the fall, the Senate debated until the eleventh hour. The two will go to conference in the new year.
Demand climbed to record levels through 2007 for grains and oilseeds because of their value as renewable fuel and because they’re needed in foreign countries. At the same time it was a year of frustration for U.S. cattlemen facing increasing feed costs.
All of agriculture faced swelling input costs. This year flummoxed bee keepers and those who depend on them for crop pollination because of the disappearance of so many honey bees. Drought, seemingly affecting some section of the Cornbelt every year, was responsible for a shortage of hay just when the season of most need approached.
These stories and many more were covered by reporters on the nation’s largest agricultural radio network. They’re part of 2007 in Review on Brownfield Ag News for America.
Kari McKinney has joined the Brownfield team. A recent Drury University grad with a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and Advertising, Kari has a background as a Marketing Intern for Drury and as a Sales Intern for a radio station in Springfield, Missouri. I'm pleased to have Kari on board. Her first day on the job, we lost power, which is not such a big deal because we have a back-up generator. However, our back-up generator failed mid-day (something that has never happened before) and one of Kari's first duties was to call affiliate radio stations to let them know what was happening here.
Clever as ever Mandy Shanks, affiliate performance coordinator for Brownfield Ag News radio network, made a candy tractor for me for Christmas. No one can accuse Mandy of being loyal to any particular brand. This tractor is definitely not a 
As a subscriber to 
Weather is once again interfering with farm life in the Midwestern part of the country. In addition to icy roads and ice-laden tree limbs crashing down on top of fences and outbuildings, many livestock producers found a layer of ice covering hay bales, keeping cows from getting to the much-needed fodder. 
Being on the road early in the morning as the sun comes up and, as is the case in this photo, in the evening as the sun goes down, is part of many days for Brownfield Ag News team members. Julie Harker took this photo between Ladonia and Mexico, Missouri, driving back to Jefferson City from an event last week. 
Apparently, Bob Meyer has estabished his own dress code for the winter meeting season. Last summer, we got 