The Rural Voice, 1994-05, Page 43Growing in thin air
AgRadio Network's a work of love
for farmer -broadcaster Dennis Guy
BY RALPH PEARCE
Farming and radio broadcasting.
At first glance, the two appear
to have about as much in
common as beans and wheat, yet the
similarities between the two can be
quite striking once you scratch the
surface.
Insiders from both worlds believe
theirs to be a "way of life" as
opposed to a mere job or career,
which accounts for an individual's
staying power in the most trying of
times. Both demand hard work and
commitment as well as great sacrifice
in return for success and even that's
not guaranteed. Diversification is a
definite asset; the more you can do in
each, the easier it is to stick with it —
a sort of "jack of all trades, master of
none" approach. And most of all,
farmers and radio personnel know
what it is to be underpaid.
It only makes sense that if a
person worked in one, they wouldn't
dare try the other. And certainly not
at the same time!
Meet Dennis Guy, Network
Producer and founder of the Ontario
AgRadio Network and exception to
that rule.
A little more than six months ago,
Guy stepped out on a limb and
launched the Ontario AgRadio
Network. It was October of last year
when he planted the seeds of
agricultural network radio in this
province, starting with CFCO in
Chatham as his flagship station.
Early in the new year, three other
stations along with three "repeater"
signals signed on with the Network,
giving Foodland Forum, the AgRadio
Network's feature program, exposure
from Chatham to Belleville and
Hamilton to Owen Sound.
And to think, five years ago,
Dennis Guy was happy to be selling
radio advertising to his clients at
CFCO. His world began to change in
1989 when a local broadcasting
Dennis Guy puts in long hours in his radio studio creating AgRadio Network.
legend by the name of Harold Smith
decided to call it a career. Smith was
also an exception to the radio and
farming "never do both at the same
time" rule. To tell Guy his job was
going to be difficult was overstating
the obvious.
"I wish I had a nickel for every
time I heard that line — 'Oh, you've
got big shoes to fill there, boy',"
laughs Guy as he relates the events
surrounding his "take-over" as Farm
Director at CFCO.
"I was introduced to the farming
public in Southwestern Ontario by
Harold Smith at the Ploughing Match
when it v.as held down in Essex
County," says Guy. "I didn't take
over for Harold until the first of
November. But Harold thought it'd
be a good idea if I spent the week
with him up there."
It wasn't a matter of faking an
interest in farming; Guy was raised
on a fifth generation family farm, so
in that respect, he was much the same
as Harold Smith — a farmer, pure and
simple. Guy was given the official
seal of approval by Smith, so that by
the end of that week at the Ploughing
Match, the changing of the guard was
virtually seamless.
ctually, it was at the same
1989 International Ploughing
Match that Guy was first
introduced to the idea of network
radio. Bob Driscoll, owner of
Michigan Farm Radio, was in
attendance at that year's event. He'd
heard of Harold Smith and Harold
had heard of Driscoll. With Guy
playing the ever -attentive student,
talk between Driscoll and Smith
turned towards network radio.
- MAY 1994 39