TEMPE, ARIZ. — “There still is information that we can provide that truly they can’t get other places.” That explanation from former Nebraska Rural Radio Network and KRVN-AM & FM in Lexington, Neb., GM Amy Biehl-Owens summarizes the findings of a recently published study of the future of farm radio in the digital age.
The research was conducted by Prof. Kevin Curran, Ph.D., representing Arizona State University, and Paola Martin, a Communication Studies major who grew up on a California berry farm while both were at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. It has now been published in the Journal of Radio and Audio Media.
Among the report’s most significant findings:
- Operators of America’s farm radio stations are finding ways to retain their relevance and expand their services despite the growth of alternative sources of information.
- There remains no better medium for farmers and ranchers to obtain vital weather, market, and agricultural news than local radio stations.
- While many station operators have reduced staff, farm stations rely on expert human capital to interpret important information for their listeners.
- To reach listeners where they are, farm broadcasters have expanded into streaming, podcasts, and social media live feeds even though the financial return is limited.
- Farm broadcasters are big supporters of the AM Radio in Every Vehicle Act.
Since farm radio started at WDZ in Tuscola, Ill., in 1921, rural listeners have depended on local stations. The National Association of Farm Broadcasting now represents about 180 stations. Every two years, the NAFB conducts a detailed study of the agricultural community and its media preferences. The researchers had access to that survey and conducted detailed interviews with experts from management, the NAFB, and higher education.
Texas Tech Prof. Erica Irlbeck recalled her father delaying his lunch so he could catch the midday farm report in his truck, “As long as we still have tractors and pickups, there will still be a need for farm broadcasting.”
Townsquare Media Chief Operating Officer Erik Hellum said his group’s farm stations know their markets “to really be connected to your community, to be able to know more about what’s going on in the community that impacts ag…. The things that make radio special are what continue to differentiate ag radio and ag media from just data you can get on your own.”
Biehl-Owens added that her team has embraced the possibilities of expanding the reach of its content through social media, “We may do an audio interview and provide content to our stations that way, but at the same time we’ll do a video interview that we will then podcast and put up on Facebook, or we use it in our podcast section on the website”
Former NAFB Executive Director Tom Brand admitted additional platforms such as streaming are necessary today, even if they offer a limited audience and some expenses. Like any established media, farm radio has faced the challenge of analog dollars and digital dimes. “I think the broadcast industry has not been able to put the value on that like they have their traditional radio advertising. But advertisers, in the case of farm broadcasting, also recognize there’s a credibility, there’s a trust there whenever they’re on the station with the farm broadcaster.”
A full copy of the study article is available from Dr. Curran by emailing him at [email protected].
