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It's not uncommon to hear Ohio Farm Bureau leaders and staff commenting about the condition of Ohio's crops or other agricultural concerns on the radio. On Sept. 28, Farm Bureau’s voice boomed on the radio, but this time it was in a radio studio controlling the show rather than giving a report.

OFBF Director of Corporate Communications Joe Cornely anchored an hour-long radio show on WRFD-AM as part of a test of whether Ohio Farm Bureau should start a daily interview and call-in show that addresses issues affecting agricultural and small-town communities. The pilot show, tentatively titled Ohio Today, aired from noon to 1 p.m. on WRFD, found on 880 AM in more than 70 counties. Last month WRFD changed the format of its noon show from agricultural issues to Christian and family-oriented themes. That decision helped prompt OFBF to explore whether members still want to hear a radio show that takes a deeper look at agricultural and rural issues than just the weather and market reports still available on some stations.

Cornely, former farm director for WRFD, has traveled around the state visiting radio stations to gauge their interest in OFBF's proposed 60-minute program. He said several stations have indicated they would like to participate and others are still considering it.

"As farm radio programming continues to dwindle, we are beginning to hear from members that they still rely on it as a means of receiving information," said Kurt Ely, OFBF's vice president of information, education and community services. "The live, call-in talk radio format we are looking at would provide the opportunity to increase understanding and awareness of issues important to our members."

Farm Bureau purchased the airtime from WRFD to do the pilot program so it could have a demo for radio stations to hear. The Sept. 28 program featured three segments – large animal livestock, state tax reform and the Old Farmer's Almanac – and had experts comment on the topics while answering questions from callers. Several people called in during the show to ask questions or comment about the topics.

"We had a pretty lively show. There were people from both sides of the issues calling in. The hour went quickly," Cornely said.

Doing the pilot program also showed that having three topics in one hour was too much. Both Larry Gearhardt, OFBF's director of local affairs, and Dan Binder of the Ohio Environmental Council, said the time went by so fast on their segment about large animal livestock that they felt they didn't have enough time to properly address the issue. That came as no surprise to Cornely who said that future programs would probably focus on just one issue so both experts and callers would have adequate time to talk.

"We knew having three subjects was going to be a lot but we wanted to give prospective radio stations a taste of what type of subjects the show would feature," Cornely said.

During the pilot show, Bill Wilkins, the state's tax commissioner, Eric Burkland, president of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association, and Keith Stimpert, OFBF's vice president of government affairs, talked at length about the state’s new commercial activity tax (CAT). The goal was to explain how the CAT is part of a comprehensive tax reform package to help draw and retain business in Ohio.

"We need to understand that it takes $1 million in gross receipts before people are going to have to pay the CAT tax. Between $150,000 and $1 million in gross receipts, one pays a flat $150," Stimpert explained during the show.

Having a radio program will expand awareness of Farm Bureau as "an organization genuinely interested in making Ohio a place where agriculture, business and communities can grow," Ely said. "Having this radio program would round out OFBF's communication efforts, which include television programming ( Our Ohio and Ohio Farm & Country), publications ( Our Ohio and Buckeye Farm News) and both the OFBF and Our Ohio Web sites."

Caption: State tax commissioner Bill Wilkins (left) and Ohio Manufacturers’ Association president Eric Burkland (center) discussed the CAT and other tax reforms with OFBF’s Joe Cornely during a call-in radio broadcast on September 28.