Farm groups asks FCC for more ag programs on radio

The American Farm Bureau Federation has made a radio request.

It's not asking for more sexy tractor songs by Kenny Chesney. Just more agriculture news.

The Missouri Farm Bureau has backed the federation's petition of the FCC for the broadcast of more agriculture news.

According to a news release from the Missouri Farm Bureau, the FCC is conducting an inquiry into whether broadcasters, after dropping agriculture broadcasts, are adequately serving their local communities.

The state and national farm bureaus contend many stations are reducing or eliminating agriculture broadcasts. And they say they understand why.

"To be honest, you have to understand what radio stations are going through," said Denny Bannister, the assistant director of public affairs for the state farm bureau.

Bannister and others acknowledge that the agriculture population is decreasing and the radio stations are simply trying to please their demographics.

However, they also contend that radio stations have the obligation of serving the entire community. And most Missouri radio stations have rural interests in their coverage areas.

"Farmers depend a lot on the radio," Bannister said. "Frankly, the farmer is in the computer age like everybody else and he could get all the market info and news on the computer, but farmers can't be strapped down to a computer all day."

Todd Bonacki, a news reporter with KZIM-960, an AM news radio station, said that station carries a five-minute syndicated agriculture report every day at 5:50 a.m. He said until two years ago, the station also followed with another syndicated report but he said that was discontinued due to the program's quality, not the station's demographics.

Bonacki said the station also runs a "Hoof Beat" agriculture program from 6:20 until 6:25 a.m. on Saturdays. The Zimmer Radio Network owns many radio stations in Southeast Missouri, but Bonacki said none of the FM stations provides agriculture news coverage.

Charles Kruse of Dexter, the Missouri Farm Bureau president, said that while farmers no longer make up a large demographic, they still play a vital role in the national economy.

"We know we will never have the amount of farm programming via radio we had 20 or 30 years ago," Kruse said. "Eliminating farm programming, however, is totally unfair to the farmers in the community the radio station is licensed to serve."

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635