Brownfield

Celebrating Beef Month

May was Beef Month, and Joe Milledge, President and General Manager of KIIC-FM, Thunder Country Radio at Albia, Iowa knows how to celebrate it. Joe teamed up with the Iowa Cattleman’s Association and the Monroe County Beef Producers to serve over 400 burgers to truck drivers dumping corn at the Cargill Grain Processing facility in Eddyville, Iowa.

Joe issued an invite to Brownfield to be a part of the event. So I jumped in the SUV and traveled to Eddyville, not really sure what to expect. But never one to turn down a great burger I arrived at the plant with camera and appetite in hand. WOW, about 475 trucks were expected through the probe station that day. The truckers loved it, some just took their burger and continued through the station, while others dumped their corn and came back to relax at the tables and visit.

KIIC a Brownfield affiliate had speakers set up at the site and truckers were able to listen to many of the Brownfield programs KIIC carries. Milledge carries nearly every program Brownfield offers and had high praise for the programming.

Thanks Joe, I will be back next year.

-Jerry Passer

Rolling billboard?

Mike Cady comes back with some great stories from his trips across the Midwest to visit affiliate radio stations.  As a matter of fact, Mike is on the road every other week.  We are big proponents of partnerships and that is exactly what we have with the radio stations that carry Brownfield programming. 

Here's a story from Mike's last trip:

Part of the fun of traveling around to see our affiliates is with that much time on the road, you just never know what you might see next. I encountered this van [larger photo] at a rest stop on interstate 64 in southern Illinois last week. Rarely do you see somebody so passionate about their beliefs that they will completely destroy any chance at reselling their vehicle in exchange for the chance to spread the message with their rolling billboard. 

And maybe I’ve been “assimilated” but I was also surprised to see somebody so pro-smoking. For you Star Trek fans the wording on the right front fender says “Resistance is not futile. We will not be assimilated.” And for the Irish, I think the green is mostly a show for the recent holiday, there is a plaque hanging on the tailgate wishing all a happy St. Patrick’s day.

-Mike Cady

Radio partners

Brownfield Affiliate Manager Mike Cady has been on the road all week, visiting radio station partners.  He checked in this morning:

A great week to travel southern Missouri, nice weather everyday and of course great affiliates. A couple of pictures from two of my stops...

-Mike
 
Gerry Elam, PD, heard on the Ozark Radio Network simulcast on KWPM-AM and KUKU-AM in West Plains/Willow Springs Missouri.  
 
Todd Bonaki, News Anchor for KZIM-AM KSIM-AM in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston seen at work in the main control studio. 

Starstruck in Madison

Brownfield's Bob Meyer has met, interviewed and introduced many celebrities over the years he has been in the broadcast industry.  But Bob was a "little starstruck" yesterday at Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin meeting. 

Former Green Bay Packer & St Louis Rams guard Adam Timmerman was featured speaker Tuesday night, and he brought his Super Bowl rings along!!

-Bob Meyer

Listen for Bob's coverage of the PDPW meeting underway in Madison on your local Wisconsin Brownfield affiliate radio station or check out stories on the web.

The rumor of my demise. . .

"The rumor of my demise has been greatly exaggerated," is a phrase credited to author Mark Twain.  We can say the same about radio today, according to the latest RADAR report from Arbitron, a radio audience research company.  The report says, in a nutshell that radio reaches more than 234 million persons ages 12 years old and older during a typical week.  That 92% exposure rate is steady despite growth of mp3 players.  RADAR report also shows that 89% of teens, aged 12 - 17 years, tune in to radio each week.

Are you surprised?  I'm not surprised.  I'm a HUGE fan of local radio.

Boots on the ground inside the Beltway

Brownfield news anchor Julie Harker is inside the Beltway this week, covering the National Farmers Union Convention for Brownfield Ag News.  It's been an action-packed week already and it is only Tuesday morning!  This is Julie's first trip to D.C. and this NFU convention features a lot of heavy-hitters in the world of agriculture and ag policy.  From the Secretary of Agriculture to the Chairmen of both the House and Senate Ag Committees there are some powerful voices featured at this meeting.  I hope you're tuning in to your local Brownfield radio station to listen to Julie's reports and checking her coverage at Brownfield Ag News website.  She sent this note late last night:

Monday, the National Farmers Union hosted a lineup of convention speakers instrumental in ag policymaking beginning with US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  Next, Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota along with Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota talked about renewable energy and held a panel discussion.  In the afternoon, House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Senate Ag Committee chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa discussed the 2008 Farm Bill.  Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, chairwoman of the House Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, followed.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the final guest who echoed all the other speakers in praising NFU President Tom Buis for his leadership on ag policy issues.  Buis praised each speaker, capping off the day by commending Pelosi for following through on the promises she made at the NFU Convention two years ago – of seeing to fruition a disaster assistance appropriation, what became the “2008” Farm Bill and mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).

On Tuesday at noon – NFU delegates will elect a new president.

Stay tuned. 

Ken, Steve and Tom on the road this week

Waitt Agribusiness Farm Director Ken Anderson covered the Governor's Ag Conference in Kearney yesterday where our very own "Inside DC" blogger Steve Kopperud was a speaker.  Brownfield's Tom Steever is in Grapevine, Texas this week (same hotel Dave Russell and Ken Anderson stayed in LAST week for Commodity Classic.)  The National Pork Industry Forum got underway there yesterday and Tom has been reporting back.  Tune in to your local Brownfield radio station to listen to their reports!

Congratulations Brian Sowers!!

I listen to Brian Sowers on KMMO, Marshall, Missouri every morning.  I know I can count on Brian and the staff at KMMO to bring the latest local, state and national news, sports information, and lots of agricultural news, weather and market information.  KMMO partners with Brownfield Ag News, utilizing many of our programs to supplement the ag programming they do locally.  

 

Brian Sowers does a good job and a lot of people notice.  As a matter of fact, at their 25^th annual meeting February 17, Brian was named by Missouri Corn as their Farm Broadcaster of the Year.

Brownfield partners with radio stations online

Our Brownfield and Waitt radio partners are doing some great things with their websites, and many are partnering with us online as well as on the air!  Take for instance WJBD Radio in Salem, Illinois;  KIIC Radio in Albia, Iowa; and KSWM and KRMO Radio in Monett, Missouri.

Affiliate WRMJ, Aledo, Illinois has done a great job of utilizing Brownfield content to compliment local farm news and markets. 

Check out your local Brownfield and Waitt Agribusiness radio stations!

Love that local radio!

Brownfield Affiliate Relations Manager Mike Cady was on the road visiting partner radio stations last week:

While on the road again last week visiting Brownfield affiliates I had the chance to grab a few pictures at some of my stops. KCLN-AM in Clinton Iowa carries a large lineup of our programs while on their sister FM, KMCN, you can hear Managing For Profit every morning at 5:25am.

 

Had a fun lunch with WLBK-AM General Manager Larry Tempe and Program Director Terry Ryan one day. WLBK recently added a couple of new Brownfield shows to their lineup. Listen every morning at 7:55 for American Countryside and later on each day around 10:20am for Cyndi’s Young’s Two Cents.

 

At WJBD-AM in Salem Illinois you can see General Manager Bruce Kropp through the back window frantically dialing the transmitter to their FM station. It dropped off the air during my visit. Just another fun day in Radio!

 

And I wrapped up my week in Carlyle Illinois watching WCXO morning DJ Scott Patric play the morning movie trivia. Friday’s answer was “Big”.

 

-Mike Cady