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Logan County board member Joel Penhorwood resides in Logan County with his wife, Katie. Joel started his broadcasting career after high school at a local radio station, WPKO/WBLL “The Peak of Ohio,” located in Bellefontaine after a family friend, Lindsey Hill, introduced him to the career. Joel decided to continue on this career path by attending Ohio State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications. During the summer of 2013, Joel did an internship with Ohio Ag Net and Ohio’s Country Journal. In 2016, they hired him as full-time farm broadcaster, which entails tasks such as video editing, event production, live webcasting, articles and interviews.

Q: Being extremely busy working for Ohio Ag Net, how did you get involved with Farm Bureau?

A: I recognize Farm Bureau as the voice for farmers, so I always knew that it is important to join and be active. It is a great agricultural organization that does so much for farmers, and I always love to help out agriculture any chance I can get. Some people may be scared to become more active, however, it is the perfect opportunity to share your opinion about issues facing agriculture. I was skeptical at first as well, but it ended up being a great decision to join!

Q: How has your degree in agricultural communications helped you within this position?

A: Going to The Ohio State University allowed me to network with the Ohio Ag Net/ Ohio Country Journal workers, Ty Higgins, Dale Minyo, Bart Johnson and Matt Reese. Not only did The Ohio State University allow me to network with great people, it also taught me many of the communications skills that I use today.

Q: Speaking about networking and preparation, what do you see the agricultural industry looking like in 20 years?

A: The industry will definitely change and be very different than what is it today. Although family farms produce 98% of agriculture within the United States, I can see it changing to family farms becoming more corporate based. However, I can also see niche markets continue to grow within the industry. Also, much like what dairy farmers are facing now, farmers will also have less involvement within the market, which could harm many producers. As far as technology goes, I predict that there will be more autonomous tractors on these farms as well.

Thank you Joel for everything you have done for the agricultural industry as well as Farm Bureau!