Media professionals are trained to be impartial and unbiased.  However, after 50 years of talking to farmers — giving them the weather, markets and everything else they needed to make their decisions — Orion Samuelson realized that he had the platform to talk for farmers, as well. “With 150,000 people listening to WGN radio at noon every day, I hear about the misinformation and the lack of knowledge about farming,” Samuelson said. “I realized long ago that I am going to have to talk for farmers, as well.”

Farmers tell Samuelson that talking for them is as important as talking to them because they feel as if they have such a small voice when trying to talk government agencies.

Samuelson, dubbed “The Big O,” is the celebrated agribusiness director of WGN, the “Voice of Agriculture” since 1960 and has lived in McHenry County for the past five years.  “I’ve enjoyed McHenry County and have probably spent more time at the McHenry County Fair than at any other fair,” he said.

Community Connections
Since moving to Huntley, Samuelson has been disquieted about developments taking over the farmlands. “I am concerned about the water situation,”  he said. “I don’t see that there is a water plan for the county. City people need water to wash their cars and the farmers need it to grow food. The next major battle between rural and urban America will be over water. It is about quality.”  

Involved with Harvard Milk Days since 1962, Samuelson found it a natural attraction since he grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.  What impressed him was the number of dairy farmers and dairy processors in the county.  

It is the longest-running festival in Illinois. “I wouldn’t argue with the ‘Milk Center of the World’ reference because it was true at that time,” he said. “I met a vast amount of the dairy farmers and went out to their farms. I got to know local Harvard Mirai® corn farmer Gary Pack through his commercials on WGN. It is his relationship with WGN that connected us and we’ve become good friends.

“The nice part of my business is the people I meet and work with in rural America,” he added. “They’ll say, ‘Come on in and have a cup of coffee.’”

From Polka DJ to Agri-Icon
Samuelson listens to and hears farmers. Really hears them. He understands that somebody has to consolidate and communicate the farmers’ issues. And the farmers rely on him.

They believe that “if you leave it up to somebody else, one of two things will happen: it won’t get done at all or it will get done the wrong way,” he said.  

Don’t worry, Samuelson has got their backs and he does it the right way.

Samuelson started his radio career as a polka disc jockey in Sparta, Wis. In 1960, he began at WGN as the station’s head agriculture broadcaster, a post he has held for nearly 50 years. Worldwide, his record for holding the same job in radio is second only to Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network announcer Vin Scully.  

September 26, 2010 will be Samuelson’s 50th anniversary on the air.  “WGN has a relationship with listeners unlike any other radio station in the country,” he declared. “I plan to be with them for 50 years on the air.”

Farmers’ Advocate
Throughout his history, Orion has had an enormous amount of interaction with policymakers in Washington, D.C. He has met, interviewed, spoken to and had meals with the highest-ranking government officials. His mission is to advocate for the farmers. A normal month of travel may include speaking at a media correspondent dinner, having lunch with the president and vice president, and attending a banquet for a local farm bureau.

“I try to bring science to the conversations rather than just emotion,” he said. “And, yes, I do get emotional. I have always said there are three sides to every story: there’s your side and my side and somewhere in the middle is the truth. Only by conversation are we able to reach that agreement.”

Samuelson has been on the Washington, D.C., scene since the 1960s. The first secretary of agricultural he worked with was Ezra Taft Benson, and he has worked with every secretary thereafter.

“Earl Butz was one of my favorites,” he said. “In 1980, when Reagan was elected, I was seventh on the list for consideration for secretary but never moved above that.”

Samuelson obviously had a higher calling: staying on the air at WGN. He has traveled the world on trade missions and speaking engagements and handled himself personally and diplomatically with world leaders. “I’ve been to China 10 times and every time it is a different country,” he said. “It just changes every time.”

For more than 50 years, Samuelson has been called upon hundreds of times to essentially represent the farm community and has played key roles in various administrations. “I always have to ask for more for commercial agriculture support,” he said. “All I can do is express my views, talk to the secretary of agriculture and bring up the concerns of the farmers. I don’t know what they will do with it, but at least I have done my part by letting them know.”

Evolution of Farming
Samuelson has seen a tremendous amount of change from growing up on a farm with no electricity to today’s high-tech farming.

“Think for a moment of the change you and I have seen over our lives,” he said, referring to the impact of globalization and technology. He is a strong advocate for cutting our dependence on foreign oil and looking for new energy sources.  

The future of agriculture lies in education. Samuelson supports the effort to get an endowed chair for agricultural communications at the University of Illinois. Already there have been fundraising commitments from Pioneer Hi-Bred and John Deere that recognize the need to raise agricultural communications education to a higher level. A program like this would provide leadership to help educate students about agriculture, consumer and environmental issues.
>> For more, visit www.tribuneradio.com/orion.htm.

>>Listen to what WGN says about McHenry County Living magazine.  {mp3}McHenryCountyLivingMagazine 4.16.10{/mp3}