The ''U.S. Farm Report'' (''USFR'') is a weekly syndicated

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

television news program, presented in magazine format, which has a focus on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and agribusiness. ''USFR'' is currently hosted by Tyne Morgan and is based in

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, along with its daily companion series, ''

AgDay ''AgDay'' is a syndicated daily half-hour television program presented in magazine format focusing on agriculture news, agribusiness, and country living. It generally airs in early morning timeslots on stations throughout the country and also ai ...

''. The program is owned by Farm Journal Media, a Philadelphia-based company that owns a number of agricultural media properties including ''

Farm Journal ''Farm Journal'' is a United States agricultural trade magazine that was established in 1877, and is the leading United States farm magazine. History Wilmer Atkinson founded the publication in Philadelphia in March 1877 as a small eight-page mont ...

'' magazine. Streaming full ''USFR'' episodes are available on the station's web site.

Format

Common topics covered on ''USFR'' include market forecasts for various agricultural commodities,

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmos ...

, agricultural business profiles, and some

environmental conservation *Environmental protection *Nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protec ...

. The ''U.S. Farm Report'' is commonly broadcast in the early mornings on Saturdays or Sundays, but some stations show the program at different times. Each week, two separate half-hour versions of ''USFR'' are produced, each with a different focus. Television stations can air either one of the half-hour shows as a stand-alone program or air both shows back-to-back as a single one-hour program. Most stations air the full-hour show. The first half-hour is aimed at producers (particularly those who produce the " cash crops" of corn,

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

s) and focuses heavily on agribusiness and the discussion of market futures, along with a precipitation forecast. The five segments consist of top stories with news anchor Scott Kinrade, two market-related discussion segments in a roundtable format with Agribusiness Director and Substitute Anchor Al Pell, a seven-day weather and climate forecast (geared at farmers and focusing on precipitation) with WNDU meteorologist Matt Engelbrecht, and commentary by former host John Phipps. The second half-hour is aimed at consumers, with stories on current events, discussion of agriculture-related consumer items, and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

life, as well as a more general national weather forecast. The five segments consist of top stories with Scott Kinrade/weather with Matt Engelbrecht, a feature story known as "Spirit of the Heartland", Machinery Minute, Tractor Tales/Country Church Salute, and responses to viewer mail.

History

''USFR'' was founded in 1975 by longtime Tribune farm broadcaster

Orion Samuelson Orion Samuelson ( ; born March 31, 1934) is a retired American broadcaster, known for his agriculture broadcasts and his ability to explain agribusiness and food production in an understandable way. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in ...

, who produced and hosted it until 2005. At that time, the show changed its name to ''U.S. Farm Report - Town and Country Living'', attempting to expand into such items as outdoor sports and recreation, but it soon reverted to its original title and format. Tribune acquired agricultural magazine ''Farm Journal'' in 1993; when ''Farm Journal'' was acquired by its management in 1997, Farm Journal Media became the new producer of ''USFR''. Production was merged with the daily farm news program ''

'' under ''Farm Journal'' ownership. ''USFR'' was distributed by

Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment (formerly Mid-America Video Tape Productions, WGN Continental Productions, Tribune Productions and Tribune Entertainment Company) was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Br ...

and carried on Superstation WGN until the end of 2007; at that time, Tribune Entertainment ceased operations, and Superstation WGN became

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...

, replacing the show with

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

reruns; in 2021, the channel transitioned to NewsNation. In 2009,

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

picked up the show, and airs the program twice weekly, on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons. Orion Samuleson and Max Armstrong have had a longtime working relationship with RFD-TV even before the move of ''USFR''. They later moved to a competing program with a similar format, ''This Week in Agribusiness'', which airs on many of the same stations as ''USFR''; Armstrong still co-hosts that program as of 2021, with Samuelson having retired from broadcasting the previous year. In 2010, '' Investigating Free Money'', which is a

Kevin Trudeau Kevin Trudeau (; born ) is an American author, salesman, and convicted fraudster known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission. His ubiquitous late-night infomercials, which promoted unsub ...

production, aired on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

through ''USFR.''

References

External links

*{{official website, https://www.agweb.com/us-farm-report
''U.S. Farm Report''

''U.S. Farm Report'' channel listings
Agriculture in the United States Environmental television 1975 American television series debuts 1980s American television news shows 1990s American television news shows 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Television series by Tribune Entertainment English-language television shows RFD-TV original programming