Farm Radio/TV Broadcasters Interview Grantees on Food Systems, Rural and Conservation Issues

One of the goals of the Food and Society (FAS) initiative is to encourage and assist locally owned agricultural businesses to thrive in a community-based food system where consumers have access to healthy, sustainably produced food. Local food systems entrepreneurs need sound business and marketing plans to be successful. The Oneonta, N.Y. based Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE) provides farmers, cooperatives and agricultural businesses with professional business and market planning resources.

CADE’s Kathleen Frascatore recently attended the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., speaking to farm radio and TV reporters on the benefits of community-based food systems to rural communities, and the need by many small and mid-size farms for sound business and marketing plans.

Kathleen was joined in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s NAFB Trade Talk session by Chuck Hassebrook, executive director of the Walthill, Neb. based Center for Rural Affairs, and Mark Welp, media communications specialist for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Hassebrook was interviewed by radio and TV reporters on rural and farm policy issues. Welp focused on the Conservancy’s conservation model, which is to work with rather than against farmers and ranchers to protect wildlife, soil and water resources. The three participated in 25 TV and radio interviews with reporters from across the nation.

For additional information on CADE, TNC and the Center for Rural Affairs, visit their Web sites at www.cadefarms.org, www.tnc.org, and www.cfra.org.