Reading is good, and good for you. I’m fortunate, my folks read to me when I was a wee bairn, and never hesitated to buy me books throughout my youth. I read in the car on trips, read in my spare time, and generally fell in love with the written word. Here’s what I’m reading […]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 9 years since I was regularly reporting the news on radio stations across the Midwest and parts of the Southern U.S., but on some level I think I’ll always consider myself “an old radio guy.” I still get to play broadcaster from time to time, hosting video […]
Nineteen years ago, a legend of agricultural education informed me in no uncertain terms that I was not only a member, but a leader of one of the biggest cults in the United States. That cult? The National FFA Organization, known still by many by its original name, the Future Farmers of America. That legendary educator, […]
As a broadcaster and professional speaker, I’ve moderated quite a few panel discussions over the years. Last night I hosted an especially interesting one on behalf of the Animal Welfare & Behavior Club at The Ohio State University. “Food for Thought” was billed as “an open discussion on food animal production,” and designed to expose […]
This might be a record – I’m going to talk about agronomics rather than politics for two weeks in a row … I promise a return to your regularly scheduled punditry next week. I wanted to spend some time discussing Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) this week because I saw a LOT of it last […]
For the last eight years, I’ve spent a week each August as a scout on the ProFarmer Midwest Crop Tour. My first year, I was pressed into service by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting as a stringer reporting on each day’s Tour findings. From that first Tour, I requested the assignment annually; the Tour […]
I’m working late from my hotel room in Fishers, Indiana, our first stop on the ProFarmer Midwest Crop Tour. Day 1 took our band of merry men and maidens from Columbus to this suburb of Indianapolis via a dozen or so different routes across Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana. Along the way, scouts sampled corn […]
The 2010 ProFarmer Midwest Crop Tour is officially underway! I’m covering my seventh or eighth Tour this year, and I’m thrilled. This is my “working” vacation every summer, where I get away from the office and the ABN County Fair and Festival Tour Powered by Propane (and this year away from school, too!), and […]
I realize I’m writing this a few days post facto, but it’s been a busy week, so indulge me. Lindsay and I were once again privileged to host the Ohio State Fair Sale of Champions. This marks the fourth year we’ve anchored the live television broadcast in partnership with the Ohio News Network. For us, […]
Livestock shows are an abstract concept. I’ve been going to county, state and national agricultural expositions all my life, so I’d never given much thought to what an “outsider” might think upon seeing their first steer or heifer show. Last week, with the conclusion of the Ohio State Fair, I had reason to pause and […]
