Every time I attend the Ag Media Summit I am disappointed that there are few, if any, farm broadcasters here. It’s really sad because this is such a great event and there is so much to offer for broadcasters in this day and age.

Here’s just a few reasons why farm broadcasters should be a part of AMS, either by NAFB becoming part of the meeting as an organization, or by individuals joining AAEA.

1. Professional Improvement – with most farm broadcasters now carrying cameras, shooting video and writing for online content, this is a terrific opportunity to learn more about how to do all of that. Numerous writing and photography sessions at AMS provide an education that you just can’t get without going back to school.

2. New Venues – AMS changes location every year and offers pre-conference farm tours to visit new areas of the country like farm broadcasters used to be able to do with the regional and summer meetings back in the day. This year in Buffalo, they toured a dairy farm, apple orchard and winery.

3. Networking – Besides our friends in the “print media” world, most of our company, organization and agency clients are at this event as well.

4. Student connection – Student members of the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) meet at AMS each year, which provides a great opportunity to connect with future industry professionals.

5. International opportunities – Being a part of AAEA also allows broadcasters to be part of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) and the opportunity to attend the organization’s annual summit. This year we are going to Argentina. It’s a global community in so many ways and this is such a great way to make contacts with our peers in other countries.

Bottom line is farm broadcasters are ag media and should be part of the Ag Media Summit.

2013 Ag Media Summit Photo Album