Michael Raine
Michael Young
Photos by Michael Raine and Michael Young 4 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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In journalism, as in any profession, s p e c i a l i z a t i o n comes in many forms, some more apparent than others. And as in story, substance makes the difference because journalists need knowledge as well as writing and computer skills. It takes more than how-to to produce products that are helpful for consumers. The s p e c i a l i z a t i o n has a wide scope, such as: The obvious — business, advertising, public relations, computer science; The unseen — law, space, biology, chemistry; and The unnoticed — labor, agriculture, architecture, marketing. Agricultural journalism is obvious when food makes headlines. It is unseen because most agricultural journals rank low in distribution numbers. And it is unnoticed because the influences are often subtle.
s p e c i a l i z a t i o n also happens in many ways — by plan, by experience, by coincidence. By plan when a student journalist looks for a field with high employment needs. By experience when childhood backgrounds, such as jobs, trips or growing up on a farm, shine a light on new paths of employment. And by coincidence when chance encounters, family connections or financial needs result in individuals discovering opportunities in new fields, especially ones utilizing high-tech skills and communication abilities. In addition, s p e c i a l i z a t i o n achieves numerous results. It combines talents and interests, mixes ambition and mission and coordinates abilities and service as fields respond to social needs and personal values. Agricultural journalism exemplifies a s p e c i a l i z a t i o n that has minimal effect on employment statistics but maximum effect on life needs. Everyone eats food. And eventually everyone pays more attention to how food is grown and how animals are raised. As a result, information directed to the agricultural producers and to the agricultural consumers affects everyone. Agricultural journalists are the individuals responsible for communicating that information effectively and accurately. As in any field, they have to deal with ethical questions. How well they do their job has an immense influence on the financial health of the producers and on the medical health of the consumers. In an uncanny way, agricultural journalists walk themselves and their friends to healthful and plentiful tables — if they blend academic preparation with accurate information and ice the production with natural design and colorful graphics. Fall 2005
Agricultural journalism
I t ’ s a n i c h e i n d u s t r y. I t ’ s a s p e c i a l i z at i o n w i t h a w i d e s c o p e . A n d e v e r y o n e pay s at t e n t i o n .
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 5
David Lundquist
David Lundquist
Photos by David Lundquist We are often asked to illustrate a consulting situation. I work best by having the people involved actually have that discussion or make observations about situations typify those consultations. This one was at planting time, and the two were checking planting depths or solid moisture, something like that. I got down there with them, and the dirt on the arms says it all. The same young agronomist who was consulting was cooperative enough to let me get some shots of him working in his field. In this case, he was counting the corn seedlings. The sun was about 90m degrees to his right, conditions that made for effective evening lighting. We used it as a cover. 6 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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Kristina Boone, coordinator of the agricultural communications and journalism program at Kansas State University and interim department chair, has spent a lot of time defining agricultural communications. For her, it is mediated communications targeted to specific audiences, whether consumers or to workers in agribusiness and in production agriculture. “When I think of ag communications, it’s much more than just writing for a farm production,” said Den Gardner, executive director of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association. “It’s communication using all the appropriate tools necessary to help feed a growing world.” The audience includes agribusiness firms, agricultural producers, rural residents and urban consumers, said Mark Tucker, associate professor of agricultural communications at Ohio State University. The concept stretches beyond agricultural concerns. “Ag communications encompasses a range of communication activities and career paths,” Tucker said. “Generally, agricultural communications involves journalism, public relations or various types of marketing communications related to food, agriculture and then environment.” Nikki Ebert, a 2001 K-State alumna in agricultural communications and animal science and industry, said its importance varied from world and national news to classroom seminars. “It’s disseminating information and ongoing learning and teaching among people in the industry,” she said. “It’s just providing information to the rest of the world about the industry, whether that be to help them understand something that scares them or just to teach a little kid about growing a bean in a Styrofoam cup.” Students majoring in agricultural communications may have never been on a farm but are simply interested in combining communications and applied sciences, Boone said.
While it has been a fascinating field for her to work in, Boone said she went to college with no plans of majoring in agriculture. “I realized in going in how much diversity was in the field,” she said. “It wasn’t just cows and plows.” Nicole Young, K-State senior, said the degree was a perfect blend for her and right in nearly every aspect. Her father instilled a love of agriculture in her, and she has a passion for working and communicating with others. “As I have progressed through my four years at K-State, I have become more confident in my decision to study ag communications,” Young said. “I will be working to promote something that is near and dear to my heart.” After graduation Young will spend the summer in Guatemala with the K-State Community Service Program. After that experience she will take a job working for Rep. Jerry Moran. More than 20 years ago, Tucker entered the field because he wanted to write. “I knew very little about journalism or agricultural journalism until I started taking college classes,” Tucker said. “When I learned that I could combine courses in journalism and agriculture, I declared a major in agricultural journalism.” His editorial career was primarily as a publications editor. Tucker said he worked with agricultural scientists and was amazed at the variety of work being done. “I enjoyed learning a little about horticulture, agronomy, entomology and economics,” Tucker said. “It’s very humbling to work with experts in all of these fields, but you do learn. If you’re naturally curious, you love it.” Today he teaches agricultural communication courses focusing on writing and desktop publishing and also has a research program in risk communications. He said he has never second-guessed his decision. Ebert said her degree choice was a transition from activities in high school. 8
Story by Leigh Ochsner Fall 2005
Agricultural journalism
It’s a niche industry t h a t pr o v i d e s t h e w o r l d w i t h i n f o rm a t i o n a b o u t f o o d , a b o u t a g r i c u lt u r e and about the environment
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 7
David Lundquist
David Lundquist
Photos by David Lundquist Light is the best friend — and maybe biggest foe — of photographers. Good light makes things easy. Bad light makes it difficult. So whether it is finding the right light for outdoor shooting, knowing how to optimize it in less than ideal conditions or knowing how to effectively create your own light, it is a huge part of the photography game. TOP: I needed to take a picture of CHS president John Johnson with the company logo as part of the picture. Being able to control and create your own light is a must to maintain flexibility. I used a studio lighting system with two lights and umbrellas. One was placed to my left to light John, and the other was placed behind and to the right of John to essentially light the metallic logo sign and bounce that light back toward the camera. BOTTOM: I shot the tanker truck for a story on propane distribution in the late afternoon light, with the added bonus of a curving road during leaf-changing season in New England. Scouting the highway and planning for the time of day definitely helped. 8 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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“I took animal science because I had some judging scholarships and was on the livestock judging team,” Ebert said. “I was on the paper in high school, and the experience got me a few scholarships to be on the paper when I went to junior college.” After graduating from K-State, Ebert worked for the American Maine-Anjou Association in Platte City, Mo. Though she now works for a ranch in Littleton, Colo., she still uses the communication skills learned in college because most people have a lack of knowledge about anything agricultural. “Most people around here live in an urban setting and haven’t even seen a baby kitten, let alone know anything about cattle or sheep or farming,” she said. “People don’t know what it takes to run a farm.” Ebert said she was passionate about where she came from and what her family and friends did, and she wanted to share it with people who have no idea. “They can’t even fathom that kind of lifestyle,” Ebert said. “I enjoy being able to share that kind of information and part of myself with people who just don’t know.” Gardner said the importance of the issues in agriculture and food requires a separate degree program and industry beyond journalism. There needs to be a clear emphasis on understanding the importance of agriculture to the economy. “If you put them together, you offer too many opportunities for agriculture to get lost in the shuffle,” he said. With a placement rate of nearly 100 percent, Young said the need for ag communications was evident. Few people in newsrooms know anything about agriculture or science, Boone said, and there’s a limited amount of science in publications except for those that are specialized. “It’s a totally different discipline and a totally different set of knowledge,” Tucker said. “It’s all the same set of principles, but you have to
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be a lot more specialized.” Requirements for an agricultural communications degree usually include agricultural classes, journalism classes and agricultural communications classes. Students at Ohio State University must select an agricultural or natural resources minor. In addition, a professional communications internship is required of all majors. K-State students must complete 27 to 33 mass communications core classes. They are offered an agricultural or environmental option, and many choose to double major. “The way our curriculum is, about half of your credit hours are in communications and journalism, and about half are in agriculture,” Boone said. “I try to get all of our students to take ag econ.” The agricultural communications department at K-State has also created a senior Capstone class, which includes any content students have missed in other classes. They are currently creating strategic marketing plans for the seven accredited zoos in Kansas, Young said. After graduating, career options include working at livestock breed associations, agribusiness and trade publications, public relations firms, trade and government organizations and more. Boone said she has seen growth in agencytype work and more students going into agribusiness and strategic planning. “We don’t place hardly any students in journalism. The (ag) jobs are there,” Boone said. “We just don’t have that many students. She added that it does not pay to seek jobs in other journalism fields. Graduates from Ohio State find employment primarily with agricultural PR firms, agricultural organizations, commodity groups and the government, Tucker said. Overall, there are fewer agricultural publications today except for purebred livestock, a field that hasn’t been hurt because of 8
Agricultural journalism
“ I e n j o y e d l e a r n i n g a l i t t l e a b o u t h o r t i c u lt u r e , a g r o n o m y, e n t o m o l o g y a n d e c o n o m i c s . … y o u d o l e a r n . I f y o u ’ r e n a t u r a l ly c u r i o u s , y o u l o v e i t . ” M a r k T u c k e r , O h i o S tat e U n i v e r s i t y
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 9
David Lundquist
Photo by David Lundquist For years, I had seen photos of various refineries using star filters. I had somewhat pooh-poohed it as cliché, but I finally broke down and purchased one prior to a trip to the CHS refinery in Laurel, Mont. It works. It makes the lights more than simple spots, and it draws viewers in. In this one, while using a tripod, I waited for the twilight to balance the lights and shot away. About the only thing to watch out for with the star filter is to rotate it to the desired angle, in this case halfway between vertical and horizontal. 10 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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loyal membership, Boone said. “It’s an interesting sort of pressure right now,” Boone said. “As in any sort of media, there’s a lot of consolidation.” Tucker agreed that agricultural communications, as well as agriculture itself, is undergoing consolidation. “The trend is for larger communication firms to absorb smaller ones to gain more efficiencies of scale,” he said. “The business is very competitive, and the growth of digital and electronic technologies is fueling consolidation even more.” Gardner said in the future there would still be a critical need for journalists to know and to understand agriculture. “I still see a great value in ag journalism and what it can provide for a student and ultimately a career if they’re good enough,” he said. Ebert said as agriculture keeps getting more technological, farmers and ranchers will have to learn how to use the communication industry, but people in urban settings must also rely on agricultural communications.
“I think the most important job is just teaching,” Ebert said. “Not only spreading the information among the people in agriculture but trying to provide truthful information to people on the outside so they’ll continue to have faith in their food sources.” She said it is important to teach students about where their food comes from and about a life they don’t know about. “National surveys and polls continually show that consumers care a great deal about the origin and the safety of their food as well as the quality of the environment in which they live and raise their families,” Tucker said. “That’s why agricultural communications, broadly defined, is as important today as it was 50 years ago.” Agricultural communications will continue to be an important industry. “The message of agriculture is a unique area and one that will be ever-changing,” Young said. “As agricultural communicators, we have an exciting journey ahead of us as we strive to keep a diverse audience informed.” n
The most important role for an agricultural journalist these days would be to be an information hub for both farmers and consumers. As farmers become more professional and city dwellers do not have many chances to see agricultural activities, you are expected to fill the gap.
M a s a r u YA M AD a The Japan Agricultural News masaru@yamada.net
Agricultural journalism
“ ( A g C o mm u n i c a t i o n ) i s c o mm u n i c a t i o n u s i n g a l l t h e a ppr o pr i a t e t o o l s n e c e s s a r y to h e l p f e e d a g r ow i n g wo r l d.” D e n G a r d n e r , AAEA
Michael Raine
Michael Raine
Photos by Michael Raine 12 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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Awareness soars to the top as a quality all journalists need. Fortunately, professional organizations make that job easier. For agricultural journalism, the Am e r i c a n A g r i c u lt u r a l
e d i t o r s ’ a s s o c i a t i o n fulfills specialization needs. Founded in 1921 by a group of farm magazine editors, the AAEA provides improvement opportunities and networking for 320 agricultural journalists. The service organization offers professional improvement workshops and seminars plus writing, design and photography contests as well as constructive criticism from peers in the industry. In addition, members receive the official association newsletter, The ByLine, 10 times per year to keep up with colleagues and industry trends. AAEA President Susan Davis said agricultural journalists face challenges other journalists may not. For example, many members work out of their homes. “Another benefit, which is a big benefit for me, is being able to converse with people who do the same thing I do,” Davis said. “I could be a member of a general journalism organization, but they wouldn’t understand specifically the challenges I face as an ag journalist.” Although it began as an organization for editors, it became appropriate in the 1960s and 1970s to include all people who worked in agricultural communications, said Den Gardner, executive director. People from all areas of ag journalism, including editors, photojournalists, Internet writers and people in public relations, comprise the organization, Davis said. Depending on their qualifications, agricultural journalists may be active, affiliate, retired or honorary life members. The association also offers membership to full-time students enrolled in agricultural communications. Students of agricultural communications benefit from the organization’s scholarships and internship programs, Gardner said. The N o r t h Am e r i c a n A g r i c u lt u r a l J o u r n a l i s t s is also a professional, international group of agricultural editors and writers with a membership spanning the United States and Canada. Formerly the Newspaper Farm Editors of America, and then the National Association of Agricultural Journalists, it was organized in 1952 “to promote the highest ideals of journalism and agricultural coverage.”
A s s i g n m e n t Develop a list of professional organizations using the details about these associations as a beginning. Assign students, each selecting an area of specialization, to use the associations’ Web sites to collect information for an independent study unit about journalism careers. For a good list
Ag Associations
Am e r i c a n A g r i c u lt u r a l E d i t o r s A s s o c i a t i o n h t t p : // w w w . a g e d i t o r s . o r g Am e r i c a n A g r i c u lt u r a l J o u r n a l i s t s h t t p : // n a a j . t a m u . e d u I n t e r n a t i o n a l F e d e r a t i o n o f A g r i c u lt u r a l J o u r n a l i s t s h t t p : // w w w . i f a j . o r g /
of journalism-related associations, visit http://www.jea.org/resources/proorgz/prosinbus.html.
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Communication: Journalism Education Today • 13
David Lundquist
“Agricultural journalists must satisfy the basics of our profession — to discern, interpret and make known. This means being relevant to the issues of the day, not excluding new practical solutions to old problems. A good grounding in daily newspapers plus some agricultural background, but above all, enthusiasm and empathy with the reader, will usually make a good agricultural journalist. Photographic skills are almost a prerequisite but not essential. “The main thing is that the stories must be relevant to the current situation and illustrated appropriately. I notice the trend to use graphs and tables is on the increase, but in my youth we were told to try to avoid these and stick to simple interpretations of the facts. Most readers, especially in our country, can absorb only simple concepts, and they are increasingly being spoiled by television and visual imagery. The KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) applies to agricultural journalism as well, but usually we try to give a little depth and relevance to our stories.”
R e g W e i s s , v i c e c h a i r IFA J hiweiss@iafrica.com “I am frankly ambivalent about the future of ag journalism. It may be that we don’t need a specific branch of journalism to cover this rapidly consolidating industry. Rural America is likewise not simply about farming so a more generalized approach to journalism may be more useful and marketable. Good writers are always needed, and having the professional breadth to cover many aspects of rural life seems like a better career plan to me.”
J o h n P h i pp s , w r i t e r a n d I l l i n o i s f a r m e r johnwphipps@direcway.com
P h o t o b y D av i d L u n d q u i s t 14 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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2004 AAEA Story of the Year: “BSE.” Karen Briere, Barbara Duckworth, Mary MacArthur, Mike Raine, The Western Producer From Karen Briere: “This was a huge story for Prairie agriculture. It was the first case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy/mad cow disease) in a North American-born animal even though everyone said it couldn’t happen here. Our reporters and editors had several conference calls dividing jobs and stories — that was key. There was also a lot of discussion and updates throughout the week. Our sources and knowledge of the industry built over the years was key to knowing where to go for information. We could get comments from officials when other media couldn’t because of that relationship. Most of our stories for the past two years have focused on human reaction to this event. We have the luxury of time at our publication and an editor who will give reporters the time to do the story properly, rather than speculate. Barbara said she heard Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward on Larry King after the disclosure of Deep Throat talking about modern journalism. One of their points was that they had an editor who would give them time. Now, everyone has to be on the Web site in five minutes, and it doesn’t matter if the story is shaky or contains nothing new. We are also fortunate because we have been allowed to build specialists on staff. Barbara in particular has spent hours studying this disease, reading the science, reading the court briefs, talking to people in the U.K. and here in North America. We also have opportunities for highly specialized staff development. “I have also spent considerable hours studying cattle markets, global trends and pricing mechanisms. In short, I know what I am doing because I have been given the chance to learn,” she said. We are not expected to compete with 20 second news spots that hit a story on the gangland slaying, the bank robbery, the dog wedding and then something on “mad cow” before they move on to sports and the weather. Time has been on our side and has helped us build the thorough stories we needed, whether it was impacts on humans, how the science works, what it looks like and how it affects farm policy and economics. At the end of the day, we don’t have to compete. We lead.
W e s t e r n P r o d u c e r Ar t w o r k b y M i c h e l l e H o u l d e n
Time stands still for those caught in the eye of a storm. Eric Thornhill knows that sense of helplessness well, having lived through numerous farm disasters in his native England and on the farm he runs at Ile des Chenes, Manitoba, Canada. Over a period of 35 years, Thornhill and his family were threatened by a string of catastrophes that included outbreaks of foot-andmouth disease, scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE/mad cow disease). In addition, widespread flooding in the early 1990s left his Manitoba farm under almost a meter of water. In each instance, watching his livelihood destroyed left Thornhill and his family economically damaged and emotionally devastated. However, the 67-year-old farmer never felt defeated. “Life goes on,” he said. “You can live through a crisis (even though) it is devastating.” For Thornhill, who still runs a farm with sheep, breeding horses and a riding stable, the ability to adapt and a tenacious attitude were key to his survival. Professional crisis managers say those qualities will ultimately determine how many Canadian livestock producers survive the cur-
rent BSE crisis. Disaster management experts say the Canadian BSE crisis is a textbook example of how an entire industry can be devastated by a single event. For producers and industry organizations, it also illustrated the importance of developing an effective crisis management strategy. Ron Glaser, communications manager with the Alberta Beef Producers, said individual beef producers are coping as well as can be expected given the scope and duration of the crisis. Financially, the losses caused by BSE are impossible to calculate, but by many estimates damage is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2002, Canada exported more than $3 billion worth of beef and cattle to the United States. The U.S. border has been closed to imports of live cattle and most beef products since May 20. “For five months now it has almost solely been BSE that we have worked on, and it’s hard to fathom that it could continue this long,” Glaser said. “A lot of important work has been put on hold.” ... n
M a n a g i n g c r i s i s o n t h e m o d e r n f a rm By Barbara Duckworth Calgary Bureau of the Western Producer Eric Thornhill knows the specter of crisis well. On Nov. 18, 1967, the British farmer watched his 580 head of livestock destroyed due to a foot-and-mouth epidemic in England. The animals were buried in a clay-lined pit and covered with lime to prevent infection. He was allowed to restock the following spring, but it took three more years to regain profitability, even with government compensation. Thornhill laid off three hired hands, did custom work for other farmers and diversified his own operation to ensure the survival of his 400-year-old family farm. “One of the benefits of being mixed farmers is that you don’t have all your eggs in one basket,” he said. Disaster struck again some 20 years later.
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In 1990, Thornhill and his family emigrated to Manitoba. The same year, their newly acquired farm was deluged with three quarters of a meter of water when the Red River flooded its banks. … As for Canada’s BSE (bovine spongiform encepalopathy/mad cow disease) crisis, Thornhill thinks the beef industry will return to normal but not without casualties. “This one is worse because people are heavily reliant on borrowed money,” he said. There will be bankruptcies, and people may have to swallow their pride to survive, he added. That means carrying on somehow, making tough decisions and planning ahead for unforeseen disasters. n
Samples
Coping with crisis By Barbara Duckworth Calgary Bureau of the Western Producer
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 17
My journalism career-path has been non-conventional and may or may not make me a good person to hold up as an example to journalism students. I got a bachelor’s in Farm Operations from Iowa State. Then I worked as machinery/crops manager for a large grain and livestock farm in central Iowa for 15 years. I’ve always enjoyed reading, had a knack for writing, and on a whim sent a guest opinion piece about agricultural society to the Des Moines Register. They published it, paid me $25, and I decided that I was going to become a freelance writer if people were willing to pay me for writing down my opinions. So I farmed by day and learned to freelance at night and on weekends. I wrote what I knew about — farming, hunting, fishing, off-road motorcycle racing — and slowly learned the intricacies of freelancing as well as the mechanics of writing. When the farm corporation folded and I had to find a job quickly, I ended up working as a mechanic at a local John Deere dealership. Still am, 13 years later. I kept writing for a variety of magazines and really stepped up my tech submissions to Farm Journal. Charlene Finck eventually got tired of being snowed under with blind submissions and signed me up with a contract to be a contributing editor for the magazine, specializing in machinery and tech issues. I also write every month for PROFI, a European farm magazine as well as rpm Magazine for Truckers, and Iowa Game and Fish Magazine, and am a regular contributor to Contractor’s Tools and Supplies Magazine and Speedway Illustrated Magazine. I also write for InFisherman’s Catfish InSider magazine, but I almost feel guilty for taking money for interviewing people and learning how to catch more and bigger catfish.
D a n A n de r s o n , F a r m J o u r n a l ma g a z i n e xrdan@netins.net
P h o t o b y M at t S ta m e y 18 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
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When machinery breaks during harvest, there are three levels of repairs: FIR, FTH and FTF. FIR means Fix It Right and usually requires time, a parts-run to an implement dealership and money. FTH stands for Finish The Harvest. The goal of FTH repairs is to get the machine through the busy season until there’s time to make permanent repairs. Then there’s FTF — Finish The Field — repairs. Those are the kind of repairs made when storm clouds are churning on the horizon and you’re 10 miles from home. FTF repairs often involve duct tape, a chunk of wire robbed from a nearby fence and a large hammer. All field repairs must be safe, whether they are FIR, FTH or FTF. But once the safety aspect is covered, anything goes when repairing equipment during the heat of harvest. Here are a few tricks and techniques gleaned from professional farm equipment mechanics for the next time all the shaft-speed monitor lights come on, the dealership is closed for the night, and the forecast is for a week of rain. Sealed bearings don’t have grease zerks and aren’t designed to be greased. Noisy sealed bearings can sometimes be nursed for a few extras hours by using a hypodermic needle to inject grease through the bearing’s rubber seal. Auto parts stores carry special “bearing needles.” Livestock farmers have been known to use leftover big-bore vaccination syringes to do the job. Failed bearings often inflict damage on their housings, flanges or shafts, necessitating extensive repairs. If the damage is limited to a spun shaft or bearing block, “peening” the housing or shaft may allow a new bearing to fit tight enough to finish harvest. Use a hammer and center punch to puts dozens of dimples in the housing or on the shaft where the bearing will ride. Each center punched mark creates a tiny crater with raised edges. Create enough raised edges, and it increases the effective diameter of the shaft or reduces the bore of the bearing housing enough so a new bearing will fit snug. Retaining compound is a better fix for “spun” shafts or housings because retaining compound provides nearly 100 percent contact between components. However, cure-time for retaining compound is generally 24 hours so the better fix is not the quickest fix. Often rocks or field debris bow the big Fall 2005
cross-augers on small grain platforms. Bowed cross augers can sometimes be returned to service with a log chain, a fence post and a large tree or tractor. Carefully position the bent auger so the bend is pointed away from the front of the combine. Wrap the log chain around an immovable object, such as the tree or tractor, and center the fence post on the vertex of the bend on the backside of the auger. Wrap the log chain around the auger and the fencepost. Carefully use the hydrostatic control of the combine to back away from the tree or tractor and to pull the bend out of the cross auger. Recognize that an overenthusiastic tug on a severely bent auger could create more damage to the bearings and to the shaft that support the auger. Crossbars on feeder house conveyor chains also suffer damage from rocks and debris. Crossbars are riveted to the conveyor chains at the factory, but Grade 8 bolts with locknuts are faster to install than rivets when replacing broken crossbars in the field. Crossbars that are mildly bent can be straightened with an acetylene torch and a 3-foot-long pry bar. Remove the corn head or small grain platform to provide full access to the front of the feeder housing. Heat the vertex of the bend in the crossbar to cherry red. Quickly insert the pry bar between the drum and crossbar, and lever the bend out of the crossbar. Compound bends may require a few quick whacks with a hammer to finish the straightening job. … A word of warning: The old “twist-thewires-together-and-tape-the-hell-out-of-it” technique for repairing broken wires can cause arcing or power spikes that can “smoke” expensive computerized components on equipment manufactured since 1985. Finally, never go to the field without a roll of duct tape and a handful of plastic “zip ties” in the toolbox. Duct tape can seal leaky grain tanks, patch torn boots on the end of unloading augers and, with creative splinting, temporarily fix broken reel bats on small grain platforms. Plastic zip ties are the modern equivalent of baling wire. Use them to tie up drooping hydraulic hoses, corral wayward wiring harnesses, and, in a pinch, stir the cream and sugar into your midnight cup of coffee. n
Samples
Fix it in the field B y DA n A n d e r s o n , t h e f a r m j o u r n a l f i r s t p l a c e i n 2 0 0 4 f o r t e c h n i c a l f e at u r e
Communication: Journalism Education Today • 19
W h a t h a pp e n e d t o t h e c l e v i s e s ? B y J o h n P h i pp s , t h e f a r m j o u r n a l First place in 2004 for a humorous article Been to your local farm supply store lately? Excuse me, I meant your local dog-cat-horsehampster-hunting-fishing-garden-clothingauto-candy-toy-appliance-farm store? What the heck happened to the glorious bazaar of yesteryear? Rows of plowshares and tractor seats. Stacks of baling wire. Acres of fencing material. Gone, gone, alas, gone — like “blonde” jokes and share rent. My local farm store, Rural King — a sort of retail monarchy, I suppose — has evolved into a store that is less and less about farmers and more and more about “country living.” As rural wannabees flood into our neighborhoods, merchants are ignoring old customers like last semester’s girlfriend. Much of the problem, of course, is that standardized parts like roller chain, or bearings are poisonous to retailer margin. Shelf space wasted on low turnover items like tractor mufflers is better used to display singing bass plaques — an item no home is complete without. I could weep. To make matters worse, farmers are “morphing” into the lifestyle crowd — buying leaf blowers and dog snacks, for crying out loud. Dog snacks? Dogs think of roadkill as a snack. Or dropped sandwich pieces. Dogs don’t need no stinkin’ snacks. But there they are — rows of special treats for pampered pooches. Then you blunder into the horse arena. Hundreds of leather attachments adorn the displays: every possible accessory for credit-worthy equestrians. People in slightly too tight jeans and pointy boots made from endangered species mumble knowingly about fetlocks and withers and saddle valves. A surprising number of women sport ponytails — in sisterhood with their mounts no doubt. Many of the men wandering the horse section are sullen non-enthusiasts — already calculating what the “stoopid oat burner” has cost to date and why the younger sister has to have her own four-legged investment when all involved know perfectly well her older sister will forget about “Snowball” when the first mascara smears her eyelid. At Christmas time, which means from midAugust until the Spring Sale in early January, fully 80 percent of the store is crammed with toys. The other 20 percent is batteries. I think there is also an enormous display of cam-
20 • Communication: Journalism Education Today
ouflaged hunting regalia, but it’s hard to tell exactly where it is. It is also in January that farm stores begin stocking bedding plants and vegetable sets to allow them to age and dehydrate properly. Winter goods like snow shovels and boots are bundled back into the bowels of the warehouse to train procrastinators to buy their long underwear in July. Before the toys arrive. On the plus side farm stores have begun to realize, like the giant home-improvement “Borg” stores, that there’s gold in them thar tools. Gleaming alleys of powertoys occupy an expanse that is nothing short of a year-round Santa’s Village for semi-craftsmen. Shouldering aside the sacks of calf feed and corn hooks (yeah — like I miss them!), colorful electric gadgets lure us into believing the Great Lie of our time: True craftsmanship is only one power tool away. Long-time farm store customers may not be sufficiently market-hardened to cope with upscale marketing techniques of such consumer products. In our enthusiasm, we neophytes can make mistaken choices. Once I bought a biscuit joiner, for example, and discovered it really didn’t save time at breakfast after all. Most mystifying to me is the explosion of inventory in the clothing quadrant. While I can understand that modern man truly needs scores of breakfast cereals, I struggle to comprehend the necessity of 800 kinds of jeans. I buy my work jeans like I buy tarps. No, not because they are the same size but because I use the same replacement criteria: If mud can get in or valuable things get out, then it is time to buy another. I know my size so I can do this all by myself. That is, I could until the choices multiplied. Now I don’t know whether I get rock-washed or boot-butt or whatever. I have to look at the tag on the inside of the left fly of the jeans I am wearing for the style number. Hint: Do this exam in a dressing room to avoid alarming other customers. Don’t ask me how I know this. Rural-everything stores are not all bad, I guess. But it still creeps me out to see a sturdy fellow yeoman standing at the checkout with 8 disc blades, a box of wood screws, a bag of golf balls and a carton of Pampers. But as I watched, I noticed at least one thing hasn’t changed. The check memo still read: machinery repair. n
Fall 2005