Radio farm report bites the dust
By John Phair, Voice of the Farmer Staff
In the News - Thursday, December 07, 2006 Updated @ 11:39:26 AM
Foodland Forum, the popular farm market and agri-news report heard daily on radio stations throughout southwestern Ontario will be discontinued in the new year.
Dennis Guy, president and general manager of the Ontario AgRadio Network, the Chatham-based company that produces and distributes the programming to 13 radio stations across Ontario, made the announcement last week.
Guy, who founded the AgRadio Network in 1993, said the current programming will be replaced with a format that better reflects the changing face of rural Ontario.
“We are not going out of business, we are simply changing our business model,” he said, adding he is developing new programming to appeal to the broader rural community.
“The days of a commodity-based ag radio network are over; the face of rural Ontario is changing and we need to change with it,” he said.
Fewer than 10 per cent in the rural community today are actually farmers, he said.
With the number of farmers dwindling and ongoing concentration in the agri-business sector, commodity-based farming is rapidly becoming a niche market for those in the advertising industry, he added.
Guy said there is no longer enough commodity centered‚ advertisers to justify continuing his present mode of programming.
“Large commodity-based companies have become extremely specialized in their marketing efforts,” he said, adding that most are going to data-based marketing and reach out to potential customers directly by e-mail or internet.
“They are getting extremely efficient at marketing their products and they are doing it without advertising.”
The network’s daily program lineup includes two market reports, a daily farm news capsule, and a recent feature called Question Period which allows the public to submit questions related to farming, food safety and the rural environment and have them answered by industry experts.
Guy said he would make an announcement about the new programming early next year and would only say it will focus more on the rural lifestyle and will not include commodity oriented programs such as market reports.
However, a recent report from a Simcoe County radio station, CHCD Simcoe, indicated there are plans to include a program focused on the horse industry and another with a more general rural focus.
“I know I’m going to face some backlash but I can’t do it for nothing,” Guy said.
“I have spent the past year trying to figure out what is really going on in the rural community and it’s really a cultural change, but we will still be rural specialists, communicating with the rural community.”
Ralph Brodie, president of the Chatham-Kent Corn, Soybean and Wheat committee said it’s unfortunate that farmers are losing yet another service (last year, the A channel also pulled the plug on its noon farm report) but says it’s a sign of the times.
“It’s too bad, we don’t need to lose that, I know Dennis has worked hard building that business and I’m sorry to see that program go, it takes another tool away from farmers,” he said.
Debbie Coke, president of the Lambton Federation of Agriculture said it’s unfortunate because in some areas of the province Foodland Forum is the only farm news and market report available for farmers.
“It’s just another sign that the rural economy is changing and not for the better, farmers are hurting and other businesses are suffering and jobs in the rural community are being lost,” she said.
By John Phair, Voice of the Farmer Staff
In the News - Thursday, December 07, 2006 Updated @ 11:39:26 AM
Foodland Forum, the popular farm market and agri-news report heard daily on radio stations throughout southwestern Ontario will be discontinued in the new year.
Dennis Guy, president and general manager of the Ontario AgRadio Network, the Chatham-based company that produces and distributes the programming to 13 radio stations across Ontario, made the announcement last week.
Guy, who founded the AgRadio Network in 1993, said the current programming will be replaced with a format that better reflects the changing face of rural Ontario.
“We are not going out of business, we are simply changing our business model,” he said, adding he is developing new programming to appeal to the broader rural community.
“The days of a commodity-based ag radio network are over; the face of rural Ontario is changing and we need to change with it,” he said.
Fewer than 10 per cent in the rural community today are actually farmers, he said.
With the number of farmers dwindling and ongoing concentration in the agri-business sector, commodity-based farming is rapidly becoming a niche market for those in the advertising industry, he added.
Guy said there is no longer enough commodity centered‚ advertisers to justify continuing his present mode of programming.
“Large commodity-based companies have become extremely specialized in their marketing efforts,” he said, adding that most are going to data-based marketing and reach out to potential customers directly by e-mail or internet.
“They are getting extremely efficient at marketing their products and they are doing it without advertising.”
The network’s daily program lineup includes two market reports, a daily farm news capsule, and a recent feature called Question Period which allows the public to submit questions related to farming, food safety and the rural environment and have them answered by industry experts.
Guy said he would make an announcement about the new programming early next year and would only say it will focus more on the rural lifestyle and will not include commodity oriented programs such as market reports.
However, a recent report from a Simcoe County radio station, CHCD Simcoe, indicated there are plans to include a program focused on the horse industry and another with a more general rural focus.
“I know I’m going to face some backlash but I can’t do it for nothing,” Guy said.
“I have spent the past year trying to figure out what is really going on in the rural community and it’s really a cultural change, but we will still be rural specialists, communicating with the rural community.”
Ralph Brodie, president of the Chatham-Kent Corn, Soybean and Wheat committee said it’s unfortunate that farmers are losing yet another service (last year, the A channel also pulled the plug on its noon farm report) but says it’s a sign of the times.
“It’s too bad, we don’t need to lose that, I know Dennis has worked hard building that business and I’m sorry to see that program go, it takes another tool away from farmers,” he said.
Debbie Coke, president of the Lambton Federation of Agriculture said it’s unfortunate because in some areas of the province Foodland Forum is the only farm news and market report available for farmers.
“It’s just another sign that the rural economy is changing and not for the better, farmers are hurting and other businesses are suffering and jobs in the rural community are being lost,” she said.