House Ag Committee Chairman Rep. G.T. Thompson talks with All Ag, All Day from World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA (Photo AllAgNews)
FLOYDADA, TX—”The number of radio operators who told us it would never work was crazy,” says Tony St. James of Paramount Broadcasting’s decision to create an All Farm radio format 23 years ago today.
All Ag, All Day was not originally the plan for 900AM KFLP-AM, the first radio station licensed to Floyd County. “Our first plan was to make the AM station a country music station with the FM (106.1FM) to be a Classic Hits station,” he explains. However, it took hold when they put country music on KFLP-FM and called it K-Flip Country. So, the question became, what should we do with the AM?
“The first person I met at college was Steven Orr, and we both shared a passion for broadcasting,” St. James recalls. “Though I could have never imagined working at an All Farm station, Steven introduced us to the idea years before moving to Floydada.”
All Ag, All Day signed on the air November 5, 2001, from Studio A in downtown Floydada. The programming included the Agribusiness Report, the Cotton Show, a livestock show, and a few hours of programming from others in the industry, including AgriTalk.
Today, the station can broadcast from studios in Floydada, Lubbock, or the newest studio on Music Row in Nashville, TN.
A few years later, a few radio operators were looking to fill a hole left after another farm broadcaster ended a syndicated hour. The result was the All Ag Network, produced by St. James and the Paramount team, and provides farm broadcasts to radio stations from Fresno, CA, to Rome-Utica, NY.
“Over the years, we’ve been able to place the All Ag, All Day format on other radio stations in Amarillo, Dumas, and even Oklahoma City,” he shares. The format can also be heard today on 1440AM KPUR in Amarillo.
Opportunities like this are hard to find. It is out of the ordinary that Floyd County still has a radio station today, much less two.
“We could have never done it without some key advertising partners both locally and in the Lubbock area, and without listeners,” St. James concludes. “The fact that these stations and our network provide jobs and support three families in Floyd County cannot be overstated. Without advertisers and listeners, we wouldn’t be here today.”
You can listen to All Ag, All Day on 900AM or online at www.AllAgNews.com.
