Farm Radio

In the late 1980s I did projects for a firm that sold national spot advertising on thousands of radio stations across the United States. The firmu2019s salespeople would call on media buyers to pitch stations they represented for campaigns for which radio was a part of the advertising plan.

Of course, radio advertising was, even then, a decreasing share of advertising campaigns. So the firm created another sales force to call on media planners, agency client account executives and even advertiser marketing directors to sell the idea that radio was a viable part of the marketing mix.

One part of this effort was farm radio. I was asked to help the national farm radio rep. u201cFarm radio?u201d I was completely clueless.

u201cFarm radio,u201d Lloyd explained in his West Texas drawl, u201cis what the farmer wakes up to at 4:00 a.m.. Itu2019s what he listens to on his tractor radio at 4:30-5:00. Itu2019s whatu2019s playing for 15 minutes at 11:15 when he comes in for lunch and at 5:45 when heu2019s washing up for dinner. The programming is mostly local crop market prices and weather, but thereu2019s an occasional news piece if a supplier has a new product or thereu2019s a bill in the legislature that affects farmers.u201d

Farm radio was a part of the programming of radio stations of all formats country, rock, news talk, but it was definitely the u201cred-headed stepchildu201d department. Programming and on-air were usually given to the most junior person or the one who should have retired ten years ago.

Problem was farm radio was starting to attract big advertising dollars. Equipment makers like John Deere, big seed companies, big fertilizer companies, banks and investment firms were discovering that farmers didnu2019t read magazines or watch TV, but they did listen to farm radio.

Lloydu2019s idea was to document farmersu2019 media use and to improve the quality of farm programming, with a u201cweekly fax newsletteru201d thatu00a0 on-air u201ctalentu201d could just read.

My engagement was to research farmer media usageu00a0 and then to help Lloyd and his tech guy Emmet, set up the infrastructure for a weekly broadcast fax.

Talking to Farmers

This was classic market research. We did some interviews and sent a survey. We built an interview and mailing list getting names and addresses from the radio stations, (yeah, snail mail – it was the 80s) and sent a survey. We did some telephone interviews, but quickly learned that getting a farmer on the telephone (pre- wide-spread adoption of cell phones) was hard. I could however make an appointment with a farmeru2019s wife and drive out to see him. The farmers I talked to were mostly men, but not all.

The interviews were tough to schedule. The ones we got were often because of relationships at the radio station. They were fascinating. I had one sixtyish guy take me under his wing early on.

u201cYa know, a farmer isnu2019t a farmer. Weu2019re all different. First a farmer is defined by his crop. A corn farmer is different from a soybean farmer, uses different equipment to plow, fertilize and pick. Cotton farmer? Man those guys have it rough. Weevils come along and completely wipe you out before you can turn around. You can pick cotton by machine now, but still the best way is by hand and that is hard work. Course most family farmers like me learned to rotate crops, have a field fallow, but the corporations donu2019t really do that.

Next a farmer is defined by his land. Some soil is easy, some ainu2019t. Sometimes wind blows your topsoil and fertilizer away, no matter what trees you plant as a windbreak. A hill farmeru2019s different than a valley farmer, A river bottom farmer? That guyu2019s a gambler. He plants in the best soil there is, but one in three years gets washed away u2018cause he farms a flood plain. The good years he has the best yield and when heu2019s flush you see u2018im in Vegas, Bad years heu2019s always optimistic. u2018Next year,u2019 he says.u201d

For anyone who grew up on a farm this information would have been old news, but this forty something year-old suburban kid drunk it in. I used it to shape survey questions.

I did interviews in Texas, Mississippi, Californiau2019s central valley, central Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana. I came to understand just what a tough business farming is. Your product is dependent on the weather avoiding insect pests and bacteria and fungi. It is hard all-consuming work and even if you do everything right there is no predicting market prices. If you had a great yield year and everyone else did too, market price is down and you barely break even.

A Farmeru2019s Time

One of the last interviews I did was recommended by a Chicago radio station manager. The farmer grew multiple crops and had been quite outspoken about u201cgetting chemical ads of television.u201d It seems like the fertilizer and pesticide companies were running 60 second TV spots in prime time on Chicago stations hoping to reach Illinois farmers. Unfortunately the u201cpounds in the groundu201d visuals were reaching a lot of other people too and his work was being interrupted by newsmen and environment protesters. He was an advocate for using radio to reach farmers.

u201cNo farmer I know has time to watch sitcoms, so theyu2019re not reaching buyers and the pictures they show are from huge corporate farms with little regard for the land. So why do I have to spend time explaining that to the media and these kids who come to my farm carrying signs.u201d

From the point of view of our research these quotes were pure gold. I did feel a little bad for him. He had a big family farm, passed to him from his father. His brothers werenu2019t interested in farming. Of his kids, only his daughter was interested. They had a crew and hired seasonable labor. His wife worked on the farm too and she arranged the interview. Seemed like they worked all the time.

u201cBill will only have twenty minutes to talk with you and youu2019ll have to break it off because once he starts talking he canu2019t shut himself up. Heu2019s in the barn. Remember -twenty minutes.u201d I assured her I would shut down after twenty minutes.

After about fifteen minutes, a blue pickup truck with an orange u201cIu201d on the door screeched up outside the barn.

Bills said something under his breath that may have been a cussword. He didnu2019t look happy.

A twenty-something in a white checked short-sleeve shirt and freshly pressed chinos bounded from the truck carrying a big manilla envelope and a clipboard.

u201cHope this is still a good time, Bill.u201d said the young man eagerly looking at me.

u201cDid you clear it with, Marge, Andy. Iu2019m pretty sure I asked you to clear your visits with Marge..u201d

u201cWell. . . no. Actually you said youu2019d be available today and I drove up here from Urbana. We wereu00a0 gonna talk about what we been working on at the Extension. We wereu00a0 gonna talk about some new methods.u201d

u201cNew Methods? Bill exploded. u201cSon, I canu2019t talk to you about new methods. Iu2019m only farminu2019 Half as well as I know how NOW.u201d

By this time Marge had arrived to shepherd the university ag. extension worker back to the house. Bill and I finished up with pleasantries and my promise to send him any of his quotes before we used them. I donu2019t know if Bill found time to talk to Andy that day or if Marge scheduled him for another time, but I often thought of this conversation when I worked on continuous improvement (CI) initiatives.

Time to Improve

Leaders and the consultants who sell continuous improvement u00a0projects are often a little like Andy, fresh-faced true believers in a new and better way of doing things. These leaders and consultants often look at a long time horizon in planning change.

u201cBy this time next year weu2019ll be able to take twenty percent of waste from the system.u201d Itu2019ll save everyone time so we can focus on some new things.u201d

Further exacerbating the problem, leaders often pick their u201cgo-tou201d people to start learning new methodology. These people are always the recipients of new tasks because they are hyper-conscientious and u201cfind a way to get it done.u201d In organizations like these you often hear the clichu00e9 u201cIf you want something done, give it to a busy person.u201d

As a consultant I heard reactions like Billu2019s, u201cI donu2019t have time to improve,u201d frequently. I advised leaders to take on time saving work first. One exercise we used CI teams addressed this issue directly. Collectively they listed current workload and categorized responsibilities.

Tasks we can stop doing u2013 (even temporarily).

Tasks we can reassign or delegate.

Time-suck processes where if we took out waste it might free up time.

Some leaders resisted. They wanted to work on improving u201cbig stuffu201d first. Often their u201cgo-to peopleu201d understood and convinced them to free up time to improve.

Now if I can only apply this disciple to my own to-do list.

“,”tablet”:”

Farm Radio

One part of this effort was farm radio. I was asked to help the national farm radio rep. u201cFarm radio?u201d I was completely clueless.

Lloydu2019s idea was to document farmersu2019 media use and to improve the quality of farm programming, with a u201cweekly fax newsletteru201d that on-air u201ctalentu201d could just read.

My engagement was to research farmer media usage and then to help Lloyd and his tech guy Emmet, set up the infrastructure for a weekly broadcast fax.

Talking to Farmers

The interviews were tough to schedule. The ones we got were often because of relationships at the radio station. They were fascinating. I had one sixtyish guy take me under his wing early on.

For anyone who grew up on a farm this information would have been old news, but this forty something year-old suburban kid drunk it in. I used it to shape survey questions.

A Farmeru2019s Time

After about fifteen minutes, a blue pickup truck with an orange u201cIu201d on the door screeched up outside the barn.

Bills said something under his breath that may have been a cussword. He didnu2019t look happy.

A twenty-something in a white checked short-sleeve shirt and freshly pressed chinos bounded from the truck carrying a big manilla envelope and a clipboard.

u201cHope this is still a good time, Bill.u201d said the young man eagerly looking at me.

u201cDid you clear it with, Marge, Andy. Iu2019m pretty sure I asked you to clear your visits with Marge..u201d

u201cWell. . . no. Actually you said youu2019d be available today and I drove up here from Urbana. We were gonna talk about what we been working on at the Extension. We were gonna talk about some new methods.u201d

u201cNew Methods? Bill exploded. u201cSon, I canu2019t talk to you about new methods. Iu2019m only farminu2019 Half as well as I know how NOW.u201d

Time to Improve

Leaders and the consultants who sell continuous improvement projects are often a little like Andy, fresh-faced true believers in a new and better way of doing things. These leaders and consultants often look at a long time horizon in planning change.

u201cBy this time next year weu2019ll be able to take twenty percent of waste from the system.u201d Itu2019ll save everyone time so we can focus on some new things.u201d

Tasks we can stop doing u2013 (even temporarily).

Tasks we can reassign or delegate.

Time-suck processes where if we took out waste it might free up time.

Some leaders resisted. They wanted to work on improving u201cbig stuffu201d first. Often their u201cgo-to peopleu201d understood and convinced them to free up time to improve.

Now if I can only apply this disciple to my own to-do list.

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Farm Radio

In the late 1980s I did projects for a firm that sold national spot advertising on thousands of radio stations across the United States. The firm’s salespeople would call on media buyers to pitch stations they represented for campaigns for which radio was a part of the advertising plan.

One part of this effort was farm radio. I was asked to help the national farm radio rep. “Farm radio?” I was completely clueless.

“Farm radio,” Lloyd explained in his West Texas drawl, “is what the farmer wakes up to at 4:00 a.m.. It’s what he listens to on his tractor radio at 4:30-5:00. It’s what’s playing for 15 minutes at 11:15 when he comes in for lunch and at 5:45 when he’s washing up for dinner. The programming is mostly local crop market prices and weather, but there’s an occasional news piece if a supplier has a new product or there’s a bill in the legislature that affects farmers.”

Farm radio was a part of the programming of radio stations of all formats country, rock, news talk, but it was definitely the “red-headed stepchild” department. Programming and on-air were usually given to the most junior person or the one who should have retired ten years ago.

Problem was farm radio was starting to attract big advertising dollars. Equipment makers like John Deere, big seed companies, big fertilizer companies, banks and investment firms were discovering that farmers didn’t read magazines or watch TV, but they did listen to farm radio.

Lloyd’s idea was to document farmers’ media use and to improve the quality of farm programming, with a “weekly fax newsletter” that on-air “talent” could just read.

My engagement was to research farmer media usage and then to help Lloyd and his tech guy Emmet, set up the infrastructure for a weekly broadcast fax.

Talking to Farmers

This was classic market research. We did some interviews and sent a survey. We built an interview and mailing list getting names and addresses from the radio stations, (yeah, snail mail – it was the 80s) and sent a survey. We did some telephone interviews, but quickly learned that getting a farmer on the telephone (pre- wide-spread adoption of cell phones) was hard. I could however make an appointment with a farmer’s wife and drive out to see him. The farmers I talked to were mostly men, but not all.

The interviews were tough to schedule. The ones we got were often because of relationships at the radio station. They were fascinating. I had one sixtyish guy take me under his wing early on.

“Ya know, a farmer isn’t a farmer. We’re all different. First a farmer is defined by his crop. A corn farmer is different from a soybean farmer, uses different equipment to plow, fertilize and pick. Cotton farmer? Man those guys have it rough. Weevils come along and completely wipe you out before you can turn around. You can pick cotton by machine now, but still the best way is by hand and that is hard work. Course most family farmers like me learned to rotate crops, have a field fallow, but the corporations don’t really do that.

Next a farmer is defined by his land. Some soil is easy, some ain’t. Sometimes wind blows your topsoil and fertilizer away, no matter what trees you plant as a windbreak. A hill farmer’s different than a valley farmer, A river bottom farmer? That guy’s a gambler. He plants in the best soil there is, but one in three years gets washed away ‘cause he farms a flood plain. The good years he has the best yield and when he’s flush you see ‘im in Vegas, Bad years he’s always optimistic. ‘Next year,’ he says.”

For anyone who grew up on a farm this information would have been old news, but this forty something year-old suburban kid drunk it in. I used it to shape survey questions.

I did interviews in Texas, Mississippi, California’s central valley, central Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana. I came to understand just what a tough business farming is. Your product is dependent on the weather avoiding insect pests and bacteria and fungi. It is hard all-consuming work and even if you do everything right there is no predicting market prices. If you had a great yield year and everyone else did too, market price is down and you barely break even.

A Farmer’s Time

One of the last interviews I did was recommended by a Chicago radio station manager. The farmer grew multiple crops and had been quite outspoken about “getting chemical ads of television.” It seems like the fertilizer and pesticide companies were running 60 second TV spots in prime time on Chicago stations hoping to reach Illinois farmers. Unfortunately the “pounds in the ground” visuals were reaching a lot of other people too and his work was being interrupted by newsmen and environment protesters. He was an advocate for using radio to reach farmers.

“No farmer I know has time to watch sitcoms, so they’re not reaching buyers and the pictures they show are from huge corporate farms with little regard for the land. So why do I have to spend time explaining that to the media and these kids who come to my farm carrying signs.”

From the point of view of our research these quotes were pure gold. I did feel a little bad for him. He had a big family farm, passed to him from his father. His brothers weren’t interested in farming. Of his kids, only his daughter was interested. They had a crew and hired seasonable labor. His wife worked on the farm too and she arranged the interview. Seemed like they worked all the time.

“Bill will only have twenty minutes to talk with you and you’ll have to break it off because once he starts talking he can’t shut himself up. He’s in the barn. Remember -twenty minutes.” I assured her I would shut down after twenty minutes.

After about fifteen minutes, a blue pickup truck with an orange “I” on the door screeched up outside the barn.

Bills said something under his breath that may have been a cussword. He didn’t look happy.

A twenty-something in a white checked short-sleeve shirt and freshly pressed chinos bounded from the truck carrying a big manilla envelope and a clipboard.

“Hope this is still a good time, Bill.” said the young man eagerly looking at me.

“Did you clear it with, Marge, Andy. I’m pretty sure I asked you to clear your visits with Marge..”

“Well. . . no. Actually you said you’d be available today and I drove up here from Urbana. We were gonna talk about what we been working on at the Extension. We were gonna talk about some new methods.”

“New Methods? Bill exploded. “Son, I can’t talk to you about new methods. I’m only farmin’ Half as well as I know how NOW.”

By this time Marge had arrived to shepherd the university ag. extension worker back to the house. Bill and I finished up with pleasantries and my promise to send him any of his quotes before we used them. I don’t know if Bill found time to talk to Andy that day or if Marge scheduled him for another time, but I often thought of this conversation when I worked on continuous improvement (CI) initiatives.

Time to Improve

“By this time next year we’ll be able to take twenty percent of waste from the system.” It’ll save everyone time so we can focus on some new things.”

Further exacerbating the problem, leaders often pick their “go-to” people to start learning new methodology. These people are always the recipients of new tasks because they are hyper-conscientious and “find a way to get it done.” In organizations like these you often hear the cliché “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”

As a consultant I heard reactions like Bill’s, “I don’t have time to improve,” frequently. I advised leaders to take on time saving work first. One exercise we used CI teams addressed this issue directly. Collectively they listed current workload and categorized responsibilities.

Tasks we can stop doing – (even temporarily).
Tasks we can reassign or delegate.
Time-suck processes where if we took out waste it might free up time.

Some leaders resisted. They wanted to work on improving “big stuff” first. Often their “go-to people” understood and convinced them to free up time to improve.

Now if I can only apply this disciple to my own to-do list.

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Originally Published on https://wisdomfromunusualplaces.com/blog/

Alan Cay Culler Writer of Stories and Songs

I'm a writer.

Writing is my fourth career -actor, celebrity speakers booking agent, change consultant - and now writer.
I write stories about my experiences and what I've learned- in consulting for consultants, about change for leaders, and just working, loving and living wisely.

To be clear, I'm more wiseacre than wise man, but I'm at the front end of the Baby Boom so I've had a lot of opportunity to make mistakes. I made more than my share and even learned from some of them, so now I write them down in hopes that someone else might not have to make the same mistakes.

I have also made a habit of talking with ordinary people who have on occasion shared extraordinary wisdom.

Much of what I write about has to do with business because I was a strategic change consultant for thirty-seven years. My bias is that business is about people - called customers, staff, suppliers, shareholders or the community, but all human beings with hopes, and dreams, thoughts and emotions.. They didn't teach me that at the London Business School, nor even at Columbia University's Principles of Organization Development. I learned that first in my theater undergraduate degree, while observing people in order to portray a character.

Now I'm writing these observations in stories, shared here for other Baby Boomers and those who want to read about us.

Tagged: Alan Cay Culler, leading