New Farm Bureau podcast shares ‘Voice of Agriculture’
By Caleb Hampton A new podcast produced by the California Farm Bureau is giving a voice to the state’s farmers and ranchers. “Voice of California Agriculture,” host- ed by longtime Farm Bureau field rep- resentative Gary Sack, was launched in March to keep listeners informed about the latest news affecting Golden State agriculture. The weekly podcast is based on the reporting and news coverage of Ag Alert ® and is designed for farmers and ranchers who may not get time to sit down with a print newspaper. “Farming encompasses so much time,” Sack said, speaking about the inspiration for the podcast. “Either you’re in the pick- up or you’re on the tractor.” With Sack hosting, the program is in knowledgeable and experienced hands. In his primary role at the Farm Bureau, Sack works with farmers and ranchers in 15 counties on a daily basis, staying on top of the issues they encounter on the ground. He also brings to the news program more than a decade of radio experience, reclaiming a role he took on when he first joined the Farm Bureau 45 years ago. In the 1960s, California Farm Bureau began producing a radio program called
“Voice of Agriculture.” “It was a 15-minute daily farm radio show that we produced in-house locally, that then we would send out to radio sta- tions in the state,” said Sack, who produced and hosted the show from 1979 until 1990. In those days, major stories included the impact of currency exchange rates on agricultural exports and political wran- gling around California’s response to in- vasive pests. Sack recalled providing leading cover- age of a standoff between former California Gov. Jerry Brown and former President Ronald Reagan over whether to use ae- rial spraying to neutralize an invasion of Mediterranean fruit flies that threatened a variety of crops grown in the state. “We were getting calls from around the world,” Sack said. Issues covered so far on the “Voice of California Agriculture” podcast include Colorado River water conservation, farm labor union laws, the apricot harvest, men- tal health on farms, zero-emission trucking mandates and the impact of avian influen- za on farms. Sack typically devotes the beginning of the podcast to a roundup of state and fed- eral policy updates. The program, which
California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass is interviewed by field representative Gary Sack, host of the organization’s new weekly podcast,“Voice of California Agriculture.”
runs around 25 minutes, usually features an interview with a public figure or an ex- pert on a certain topic. “Then I try to wrap it up with some- thing more food-oriented or consum- er-oriented,” Sack said, adding the pro- gram “is still evolving.” Podcast guests have included California Farm Bureau President Shannon Douglass, Farm Employers Labor Service Chief Operating Officer Bryan Little and state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, D-Jackson. “I really get a lot of the inspiration for
the podcast from what we are doing at California Farm Bureau,” Sack said. “It lets them know what Farm Bureaus are doing—what we’re involved in and how we’re helping farmers and ranchers out there in their everyday lives.” One way that Farm Bureau’s work enters the news cycle is when its Government Affairs Division helps shape policy in Sacramento. “We’re there at the Capitol, and maybe a bad bill still passes and is signed into law,
See PODCAST, Page 4
July 17, 2024 Ag Alert 3
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