Louisiana farm radio networks merging

The Louisiana Farm Bureau Radio Network is merging its farm broadcasting operations—which air agricultural news stories and market updates to affiliated radio stations in Louisiana and Mississippi—with the Louisiana Radio Network’s agrinews division, which provides a similar service. The new combined entity, called the Louisiana Farm Bureau Agrinews Radio Network, will have 42 affiliates in the two states and will represent the largest consolidation of Louisiana stations that carry farm news. “They have a network that does agricultural news, and we have one, so it only makes sense to combine our resources,” says LRN President Jim Engster. “This gives us both an opportunity to improve our farm news presence across the state.” Under the terms of the deal, effective today, LRN will handle the sales of the agrinews product and each network will receive a percentage of the business. LRN launched the Louisiana Agrinews Network in 1976. In 1998 the Farm Bureau began the Louisiana Farm Bureau Radio Network. “Agriculture is the biggest industry in the state, so by virtue of that it’s a big part of our network,” Engster says. “This is programming that affects a lot of people in our area.” —Stephanie Riegel