Oct. 13, 2020
Mississippi County 4-H member to be voice of Oct. 15 national radio campaign on pollinators
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Mississippi County teen part of national 4-H campaign
- Baugh passionate about beekeeping
(491 words)
(Download this story in MS Word format here.)
LITTLE ROCK – Lauren Baugh, a Wilson, Arkansas, 4-H member will be the voice of a national radio campaign to promote the importance of pollinators and the role they play in our food supply.
The campaign will air Oct. 15 Oct. 15 in partnership with YouTube stars the Peterson Farm Boys.
For a little more than three hours, Baugh will be broadcasting live from the Mississippi County Extension Office. Her voice will be broadcast on radio stations throughout the Midwest and on national networks including Mid-America AgNetwork, Brownfield Network and the Red River Farm Network.
Baugh, who has been keeping bees for five years, is part of a grant project that 4-H has conducted with Corteva Agriscience and Pheasants Forever. She was among a dozen teens in Crittenden and Mississippi counties who took part in more than six hours of training about pollinators and habitat protection, including guest lectures from the U.S. Forest Service, Monarch Watch, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Corteva.
As part of the grant, Baugh and others shared what they learned through social media during National Pollinator Week in June “and they caught the eye of not only national 4-H, but also corporate sponsor Corteva,” Hope Bragg, instructor with the Arkansas 4-H program, said.
“Lauren Baugh’s video on beekeeping was one of the videos that impressed our partners,” Bragg said. “National 4-H contacted me about a ‘national radio blitz’ to promote pollinators with 4-H and the Peterson Farm Boys.”
In September, Elizabeth Easley, Baugh and Bragg met with representatives from national 4-H and Corteva to discuss Lauren’s story and so they could see if she would “fit” this campaign.
“By the end of the Zoom, she had won over the staff, and was selected to be the 4-H representative,” Bragg said.
“Lauren is always willing to share her knowledge about honeybees,” said Elizabeth Easley, Mississippi County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Her passion about beekeeping and pollinator conservation comes through whether she is talking to an audience of one or 30.
“She has recently impressed me with her ability to ignite interest in beekeeping through the use of social media and virtual workshops,” Easley said. “Lauren is a true ambassador for the 4-H Pollinator Habitat Program.”
Here is Baugh’s Oct.15 broadcast schedule:
- 8:00-8:10 a.m. EDT – Michigan MamaNews – internet broadcast
- 8:15-8:25 a.m. EDT – WMT-AM – Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, Iowa
- 8:40-8:50 a.m. EDT – WGVU-FM – Grand Rapids, Mich.
- 9:20-9:30 a.m. EDT – KMA-AM and FM – Omaha, Neb.
- 9:30-9:40 a.m. EDT – KQAM-AM – Wichita, Kan.
- 9:40-9:50 a.m. EDT – Brownfield Network, national
- 9:50-10:00 a.m. EDT – Northern Ag Network, regional
- 10:00-10:10 a.m. EDT – Mid-America Ag Network regional
- 10:10-10:20 a.m. EDT – Main Street Radio, national
- 10:20-10:30 a.m. EDT – Red River Farm Network
- 10:30-10:40 a.m. EDT – WFIN-AM – Toledo, Ohio
- 10:40-10:50 a.m. EDT – WCCI-FM – Davenport, Iowa
- 11:05-11:15 a.m. EDT– WBEV-AM – Milwaukee
4-H is the youth development program of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and is operated by the Cooperative Extension Service.
To learn more about extension and research programs in Arkansas, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk, @uaex_edu or @ArkAgResearch.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Chief Communications Officer
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
mhightower@uada.edu
501-671-2006