They have visited your farms, made you laugh and listened to your hardships. They sat on your tailgate and around your kitchen table. They have told your story and made you better understood by millions. These are the farm reporters who helped share the story of Missouri agriculture and Missouri Soybeans.
Over the years, these highly acclaimed reporters have grown to be some of our best historians, bringing context to trends, connecting people and serving as pillars in the agriculture community.
For Missouri Soybeans, some of those reporters who have told our story best include Tom Steever, Tom Brand and Mindy Ward.
Sharing the Story
For decades, Steever has been telling the story of agriculture. This year, Steever celebrates 50 years in farm broadcasting. In 1973, Steever started on a public radio station at South Dakota State University, where he first spoke on air as a part-time farm reporter.
“I had a background in farming, and I knew I could speak the language and relate to people,” said Steever. “It seemed like a natural fit, and it indeed stuck.”
Steever grew up on a diversified farming operation growing oats, corn, soybeans, cattle, hogs and chickens. After leaving the farm, Steever pursued a degree in photography until taking a course his freshman year, Intro to Radio and Television. The rest is history.
“I had no idea that a person could do farm broadcasting full time,” said Steever. “I was smitten. I couldn’t believe people are paid to do this. It is fascinating and fun, and I couldn’t get enough of it.”
After nearly 20 years of being a voice for agriculture, Steever tried his hand as an anchor on Channel Earth where he worked closely with Max Armstrong and Orion Samuelson. He then worked in public relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Most recently, Steever has had a longstanding seat in the Brownfield Ag News recording studio. His voice continues to be heard by many producers when they call the Missouri Soybeans’ office and on the organization’s weekly Spotlight on Soybeans program highlighting check-off funded projects.
Across all platforms, Steever’s distinctive voice is a constant, just as it has been for so many years on the radio dial.
Likewise, Tom Brand uses his voice to visualize and connect with the audience. Brand jokingly shared he found his voice at a local picnic, emceeing the annual pig races.
“Our FFA chapter wanted to do something special for the 100th Hopkins Picnic, and as the chapter president, it defaulted to me to be the announcer at the pig races,” said Brand. “It was then someone asked me if I ever thought of a career in broadcasting. Even today, I harken back to my FFA days and am thankful for the public speaking and even being the announcer for that local race that got me to where I am today.”
Brand started out as a disc jockey at a Christian radio station in Centralia, Missouri. He then had the chance to get into farm broadcasting in 1993 when Brownfield expanded its network. However, Brand spent the most time serving as a farm broadcaster at KFEQ in St. Joseph, Missouri, after two years at KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa.
Prior to his role on air, Brand earned a lot of his transferable skills and built up a lot of sweat equity as Truman the Tiger at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“I learned about time management, responsibility, public interaction, the importance of thank you and representing something other than yourself,” said Brand. “It’s the same way in broadcast. When I went on air, I wasn’t representing Tom Brand. I was representing the caller letters of that station.”
Today, Brand is the executive director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) where he works on behalf of farm broadcasters nationwide on professional development, research and technology.
Mindy Ward is editor of Missouri Ruralist and has likely spent time on your farm or given you a call to receive updates. However, for Ward, it wasn’t a straight path to writing. As a student at the University of Missouri, she first aspired to become a veterinarian. However, after a little encouragement from her FFA adviser, she instead decided to pursue a career in agricultural journalism.
After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with her ag journalism degree, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. She then spent 10 years at a publication, The Land, in Minnesota before returning to Missouri to the family farm.
Ward is a storyteller who enjoys meeting with farmers one-on-one in their environment, whether that’s at an event such as Farm Progress or in the cab of their tractor. Ward firmly believes it’s that extra investment of time that helps storytellers connect with agriculture, find those special stories, and bring both information and entertainment to their features.
“Any time I can do a one-on-one with a farmer and tell their story, I enjoy it,” said Ward. “I am adamant every single farmer has a story to tell. I look personally at Missouri farmers because I think they deserve the best and are the best.”
Today, Ward reports on soybeans, corn, dairy, biofuels and more. She shared with a smile that she will stay with a farmer for hours until she has uncovered her story.
“There is nothing like going to see a farmer at his tailgate talking over what is going on, seeing his reaction, hearing his laughter, looking at the grieving on their face,” said Ward. “A computer doesn’t give you that connection.”
Words of Wisdom
In an ever-changing world of communications — where audiences continue to fragment — storytellers must be willing to embrace new tools and technologies. From film to digital and direct mailers to email, agricultural communicators are challenged to keep up with what producers want and need.
“The means by which we reach the farmer has changed,” said Steever. “As farm broadcasters, we need to adapt to the medium and take advantage of whatever is available to reach the farmers. I encourage young agriculturalists to keep an open mind and be prepared to change with the technology, to adjust to what the farm population needs for information.”
However, whatever platform communications experts decide to use, it’s important that they keep in mind the target audience.
“I remember my general manager at my first job with that Christian radio station asking me who I was talking to when I was on the air,” said Brand.
Brand explained that he believed the listener to be a 30-year-old housewife, and that’s when his manager encouraged Brand to tape a picture of his wife to the microphone to visualize the audience.
“It was a great lesson that I moved forward with when I got into farm broadcasting,” said Brand.
Early in their careers, many of the reporters were challenged to get farmers to speak about their operations. For years, it was difficult to get farmers to open up in fear of rebuttal or attacks from anti-agriculturalist organizations.
“Farmers were gun-shy, and there weren’t a lot of people who would talk to us. They didn’t want to share about themselves or were nervous about what their neighbors might think,” shared Ward. “I think once they read my stuff, they knew I had their best interest at heart.”
Ward found the best way to give the producer peace of mind was to listen with all her senses.
“My boss at The Land gave me some of the best advice,” said Ward. “He told me in order to share somebody’s story, you really need to listen with all of your senses.”
For Ward’s supervisor, this meant recording the interview, taking notes and truly being present in the on-farm environment to bring life to the story. Today when Ward shares a story, she still keeps that advice in mind and strives to find the truth and heart of everything a farmer is telling her.
“My advice is to be truthful always,” said Ward. “I think so often we try to be relevant and popular, but you get the best story with the truth.”
This open-minded posture gives farmers the comfort to gain trust in their reporter and therefore have their voice speak volumes.
Importance in the Industry
“I think it’s important that with a shrinking population on the farm, they have a voice and that they have someone who speaks to them,” said Steever. “With a farm broadcaster, you have someone with a personality and insight who informs a farmer not only on what the market is doing but why it is going that way and why that’s important.”
Agricultural communications helps to ensure that farmers have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their operations. This information includes everything from crop prices to weather forecasts to new agricultural technologies.
“Farmers appreciate the connection they’ve got with their broadcasters because they aren’t just getting the price tag, they are getting the why of the price tag,” said Brand. “It’s not just sunny and 88 degrees, they are getting how that weather affects them. It’s about the relatability to the listeners.”
Communicators help farmers to stay ahead of the curve. By providing farmers with timely and relevant information, these reporters help them make informed decisions about their businesses. This gives the farmers a competitive edge in the marketplace.
“My first time on KFEQ, I remember visualizing a little café close to home and shaking. It didn’t matter that it was me on the radio, but the information I was delivering was important to those in that coffee shop,” said Brand. “As I was shaking, I was thinking about how the information I was sharing could change a person’s whole direction for the day.”
For Ward, agricultural communications is important because it helps build understanding between consumer and producer. This helps dispel the misconceptions that harm the industry. Today, Ward finds that there are fewer people connected to the family farm in agricultural communications.
“You need someone who can tie what we do on the family farm to plates on the kitchen table,” said Ward. “It’s the most important part about communications – common ground.”
To tell that larger story, these storytellers have traveled from country to country to give the farmers of Missouri a well-rounded depiction of global agriculture.
“For me, it’s all about how I can promote Missouri agriculture,” said Ward. “I have seen agriculture in different countries and at varying economic levels, and now I understand how that larger picture affects Missouri agriculture.”
Ward also feels it’s important to share the story of Missouri agriculture with other countries.
“I want people to see what we do in the heartland,” said Ward. “We are some of the leaders, and people just don’t know it yet. Missouri’s farmers and ranchers make it easy for me to get up in the morning and tell their stories.”
This global perspective and leadership development aids agricultural communicators in becoming more confident, open-minded and adaptable. It helps the reporters bring the world to farmers’ fingertips and help them make meaningful market decisions.
“As a farm broadcaster, I have been able to observe agriculture and see many parts of the world that I would not have otherwise been able to see,” said Steever. “I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I’ve done.”
At the crux, communication is about connection. It’s about bridging a gap and gaining perspective by telling a story that covers each side of the issue.
“I am grateful through my career that I have seen things I never had the anticipation of being able to see,” said Brand. “There aren’t many states where I don’t know someone or couldn’t make a connection. I think that’s very exciting for somebody interested in agricultural communications. It’s a career that can take them places they can only dream of.”
These storytellers do more than just entertain us. They shape our understanding of the farm families that make up Missouri. They share the stories of history, culture and values that all play a role in our industry.
They are your friends in agriculture and an extension of your family’s operation who can help ensure the long-term sustainability of your operation. Turn up the dial, visit with them at the tailgate, invite them to the local festival and encourage them to tell your story to shape generations of agriculturalists for years to come.
