Champaign County Farm Bureau

Local Television News Brings Agriculture to Prime Time

Local Television News Brings Agriculture to Prime Time

By, Kirk L. Builta, Information Director

For those who make their living in agriculture, there is nothing unusual about the seasonal cycle of field work; planting, crop scouting, spraying and harvest. However, what we take for granted is often misunderstood or overlooked by others. WICD News Channel 15 recognizes this problem and has helped to bridge the gap between Agriculture in Champaign County and those who depend upon it.

Over the past year the Champaign County Farm Bureau has partnered with WICD News Channel 15 to bring stories on the growing season cycle to the evening news. Though agriculture is an important industry for Champaign County , many urban residents do not have an opportunity to experience each aspect of the growing season. They also may not be aware of the many important steps in the process of raising a large, healthy crop. This series has given average, non-agricultural, viewers an up-close and personal look at what goes on in the fields surrounding their town.

Nearly every week since the 2007 growing season began, Channel 15’s agriculture reporter, Bob McCaffrey, met with Tolono farmer Jeff Fisher to talk about the current conditions and activities on his farm. The series began with an introduction to Jeff’s farming operation and was soon followed by stories on topics such as seed-bed preparation, fertilizer, seed selection and crop insurance. As the growing season progressed, the stories continued to follow Jeff through the various aspects of his operation such as applying pesticides, marketing grain, weather, and the many activities of harvest season.

Bob and his camera followed Jeff throughout the county and across the state, to Farm Bureau meetings, local elevators and even the Chicago Board of Trade as the two demonstrated to viewers just how agriculture is affected by the choices made and prices set by those far away.

As harvest came to a close so too did the growing season and the “15 On the Farm” segments aired on WICD News Channel 15. Champaign County Farm Bureau Manager Bradley Uken thanks the WICD staff, Bob McCaffrey and Jeff Fisher for their dedication to agriculture in Champaign County . “This partnership has showcased our county’s greatest industry and has created a new buzz of agriculture around the area. It’s great to have the mainstream media so actively involved in supporting the work of area farmers and I thank WICD for their great partnership in agricultural programming.”

Channel 15’s assignment editor, Scott Andreson has pledged his support to agriculture and plans to continue reporting on local agriculture in the coming months and the 2008 growing season. Stay tuned to News Channel 15 for the latest in Agriculture from Bob McCaffrey and the News Channel 15 team.