What’s on a farmer’s playlist?

Jun 06, 2019

Growers share what they listen to while operating equipment

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

How do farmers pass the time when they’re driving tractors, combines or other equipment for several hours during the day?

Farms.com posed the question to growers in Ontario to find out what keeps them entertained during their time in the field.

For David Giffen, a cash crop and sheep producer from Middlesex County, the FM radio remains king.

“It’s usually the radio for me,” he told Farms.com. “I mostly listen to 97.5 (Virgin Radio) or 92.7 (Today’s Country BX93). I don’t really listen to any news or sports on the AM dial.”

Ken Smith, a cash crop and beef farmer from Lambton County, listens to satellite radio when he wants the latest farm news.

For general news beyond the farm, Smith tunes up CBC radio, he said.

But when it’s time to listen to music, Smith turns to his iPod for some classic rock.

“My favourite artist is Bob Dylan, so I listen to a lot of his music,” Smith said to Farms.com. “I also like Leonard Cohen and Corb Lund.”

For Tracy Dafoe, a beef and dairy producer from Peterborough, FM radio is her entertainment while working in the field.

Her station of choice plays music that reminds her of her upbringing.

“We usually listen to (97.7) Moose FM out of Bancroft,” she said. That station “plays music from the ‘80s and older, which fits in with our age bracket.”

Keep the conversation going and let Farms.com know what you listen to while driving your farm equipment.

Case IH photo

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.