Market to Market: The First Ten Seasons

On Friday, October 24, 1975, Market to Market kicked off a 50 season run with its first broadcast under the name “Iowa Farm Digest.” 

The mission of the show was the same as it is today, to provide the people who live and work in rural America with in-depth news reporting and reliable commodity market analysis. 

Announcer: Produced, October 15th.

Chet Randolph, Host, 1975-1991: Hello, I’m Chet Randolph. Welcome to the first edition of Farm Digest” 

In October of 1976, our name changed but the mission remained the same. 

Along with Executive Producer Dan Miller, Bill Hanley was among the first reporters on the show.”

Bill Hanley, reporter, 1975-1978: “It’s that kind of impact, that we would never, um, prepared for if you went into television. You didn’t think stuff stuck around then, you didn’t think you would have that kind of a impact on people. And you know, obviously Market to Market’s had a huge impact on so many people in that industry.”

In those early days, like today, our producers and crews covered stories and events in rural America from Maine to California.

Over the course of the 2nd season we covered what was already considered to be an aging lock and dam system, there was a report on water pollution from feedlots and a segment on organic farming. 

In our 3rd season, President Carter’s Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland talked policy and the future of agriculture with our host Chet Randolph. 

Sec. Bob Bergland, USDA, 1977-1981: Largely, it’s over expectation. What is the cost of production? Our studies show that the cost of producing corn ranges from a low of $1.74 cents a bushel to a high of $12.00.”

In season 4, we looked at meat prices and the use of nitrites in meat production. There was also a report on the rise of farmers markets as way for producers to get a better price for their bounty. 

Our coverage of innovation in rural America carried into our 5th season with an in-depth look at ethanol production or what was then known as gasohol. The fledgling industry provided some hope that the renewable fuel might in some way hold back the effect of price depressing bin-busting harvests. 

As 1980 rolled into view, we changed our name from Farm Digest to Market to Market.

Chet Randolph, Host 1975 - 1991: “Hello and welcome back to Market to Market.” 

That January, President Jimmy Carter rocked the agricultural world by placing an embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union in response to its invasion of Afghanistan. By his own admission, Carter was hoping to cause a chain reaction where the lack of feed grains would cut swine production in the USSR and the threat of a food shortage would push Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev to pull his troops out of the war torn country.  

The move, as reported in this edition of Market to Market, caused the Chicago Board of Trade to suspend trading for two days. The first sessions after trading resumed saw grain prices go limit-down. The embargo remained in place until it was lifted by President Ronald Reagan in April of 1981. The Soviets would remain in Afghanistan for 10 years before leaving in defeat. 

According to some sources, the effects of the embargo lingered for nearly two decades. 

Dan Miller, Executive Producer, 1975 - 1984: “More people jump on the catfish bandwagon.” 

Market to Market continued its exploration of entrepreneurial ventures with a look at another alternative to traditional row crops and animal production. 

Chet Randolph, Host 1975 - 1991: “And protest again.”

Our focus on the news of the day included more than one discussion about who should have control over a farmer’s land. 

Chet Randolph, Host 1975 - 1991: “Hundreds of west Minnesota farmers have been doing for seven years, protesting a power line.”

As season seven dawned, we were covering the fight over the 1981 Farm Bill. Passage of the measure was delayed until after the election. The legislation included titles that expanded crop insurance and created milk marketing orders for the dairy industry. President Reagan signed the Agriculture and Food Act into law in late December.  

We also took some time to go two decades into the future for a look at how we would feed a hungry world in the year 2000. 

Food safety has always been a subject we follow and as part of our 8th season, produced in 1983, it was a look at pork. 

“So I guess the decision relies on Rich Reiner and I have made the decision to postpone this sale.”

In the early 80s, we began covering a major story that would dominate agricultural news for nearly a decade. Rural America was struggling with sky high interest rates, a growing bubble on land prices and record debt among the nation’s farmers. The combination would create the 80s Farm Crisis.

Sid Sprecher, Market to Market’s executive producer from the early 80s to the early 00s, had a front row seat.

Sid Sprecher, Executive Producer, 1984 - 2003: “A lot of the victim’s of the Farm Crisis were farmer’s who were leveraging their farms to help the son or two sons get into farming. They weren’t in trouble until they started expanding to help their heirs. And so that was one of the cases that happened a lot.   

Sec. Earl Butz, 1971-1976 : So I take out the Farmers share, that’s the heel and one slice was all he put in.   

And through it all, we explored prices, prices and prices. Yes, this is John Roach who had already been analyzing the markets for the program since 1978.

As fallout from the Farm Crisis increased we covered weather conditions that put more pressure on the nation’s farmers, protests at farm auctions and crosses on courthouse lawns across rural America.  

While we devoted time in season 9 to cover the growing farm crisis, we also looked at climate change theory and dug deep into concerns over the lack of diversity in row crops. 

In our 10th season, we followed the story of the devastating famine in 1005 Ethiopia and took an early look at genetically modified seeds.

Our reporting on the Farm Crisis continued. We added question and answer phone-in shows to our regular story budget along with coverage of major events like the National Crisis Action Rally. 

Dr. Jon Wefald, Chancellor, University of Minnesota, 1980 - 1986: “  And then David Stockman comes along and says, unlike Washington and Jefferson and Lincoln, farm bankruptcies are needed.  Forget David Stockman.  Forget David Stockman.  We're tired of it!”

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.

contact: miller@iowapbs.org