April 29, 2003 cont'd
Other issues facing farm radio? The consolidation of independent radio stations by such corporate giants as Clear Channel Communications means there is less local ownership and less investment back in the communities being served. All twelve hundred of Clear Channel's stations have the same format, they all report the same news. "The format used to allow five or ten minute newscasts," Bob said. "Today they're lucky to get two minutes for the news." Bob believes farmers in other areas are less well-served when station owners say to the farm director, "You have sixty seconds to get the markets in, and that's it."
The issues that agriculture faces today?
With the declining economy, Bob said, there is a decline in the number of farmers and ranchers on the land. "The cost of fuel is a problem," he said, "taxes, the uncertainty of the market - farmers bale out - they're looking for farm jobs, they're looking for a way to pay health insurance."
"Just west of here Beemer lost its high school a year ago," Bob said. "It's tough when a community loses a school, when the community doesn't have enough farm kids to keep the school going, to keep the community a vibrant community. If the numbers aren't there, if the taxes are too high, something has got to give, and it's giving."
"The population is aging," Bob said, "the kids are fewer. Part of the issue is livestock confinement operations. The size of feedlot operations here is amazing. Combine the number of hogs and cattle in the county, this is the most livestock-intensive county in Nebraska. The big confinement operations create some problems that are very, very political in nature - the environment, water, odor, flies, and employment. The question is still there and the jury's not there yet - what's the long-term health effect. I think most owners are trying both to make a living and to do what's right for the environment."
"There are times we do have to be careful on the air how we treat stories about the topic," Bob indicated. "Our own audience is very split on this. Some are very, very in favor of the larger operations, that it is the way to go, that they are doing everything scientifically that we know how to do to protect the environment. And the other side is equally adamant - that seven hundred and fifty yards away is nowhere near enough distance from the confinement operation. Here because they are relatively smaller compared to the huge lots, the problems aren't always as noticeable. It's tough. You just don't see an operation anymore where you have a few livestock you can take to the local market. A guy can't run just a few head of hogs - you can't do it, no one's going to buy them. The number of packers has gotten fewer and they're farther away and the cost to get animals to market goes up. You've got to have a contract."
"Now Tyson announced last week they are closing their chicken plants in Maryland," Bob said. "They're not going to honor any of those contracts. Where do those producers go with their chickens? There is no one else in Maryland. There's a lawsuit over it, can they just say 'sorry, we're not going to honor those contracts?' With fewer major players, each time a major player makes a move like that, it hurts a lot of people. You've got wives and children and schools that are going to suffer as a result."
"In one sense," he said, "what's happening in agriculture is happening in the radio business - there's Clear Channel with twelve hundred stations and they do it all the same with fewer people. Our number of listeners in the future will be fewer. Financially, how will we be able to serve those who remain? I don't think anybody's got the answer today."
"Some people see government involvement as an issue for agriculture," Bob said. "When twenty percent of a county's income comes from subsidies, that's a problem."
"Some people think there's no future in farming," Bob said. "What is there to bring the kids back after they go off to college? The farming isn't there."
"And," he added, "I see there might be a problem with trade agreements like NAFTA, where goods can cross the border more easily. Eventually we'll have a world where goods will flow easily and all the good and the bad will come with them - bugs will cross borders and we'll spend millions fighting ones we've never had before, and Mexico will get new bugs from us. It's folly, when we're concerned about terrorism, to allow such easy access. And now the SARS virus - something's coming and it gets here before anybody knows it's happening."
To be continued....
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