Mike Adams

AgriTalk host Mike Adams was raised in a small farming community in central Illinois and grew up working on a grain and livestock farm. He served west-central Illinois on WLDS Radio in Jacksonville for 27 years primarily as Farm Director. Over the years Mike has covered state, national and international events including broadcasts from 10 countries while meeting four U.S. presidents, Pope John Paul II and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Mike took over as host of the nationally syndicated talk show, AgriTalk, in July of 2001. He facilitates a discussion about issues and ideas important to rural America, traveling over 100 days a year for remote broadcasts across the country. As host of AgriTalk, Adams conducts an annual ethanol pump tour as part of an ongoing promotion of renewable fuels and a hometown tour promoting the rich history and attributes of communities in rural America.

Adams is a voting member and past president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and was selected by his peers in 1995 as National Farm Broadcaster of the Year.

Adams has received numerous awards from agricultulture and civic organizations including the Illinois Friend of 4-H award, the National FFA Honorary American Farmer Degree, the United Soybean Board's Communications award and the Illinois commodities groups Friend of Agriculture award.

Adams served 20 years as a certified lay speaker including 16 years as a lay pastor for a rural Illinois United Methodist church.

Mike and his wife Patty have two grown children and currently reside in O' Fallon, Mo.

Mike Perrine

Farm Broadcasting veteran Mike Perrine is the voice of the Doane Bottomline Reports. Perrine began his broadcasting career in 1959 and for the past thirty three years has been involved primarily in Farm Broadcasting and Agri/Sales. Mike has received numerous county, state, and national awards during his career, ranging from the first Illinois Pork Communicator Award presented in 1978, to Honorary Illinois FFA and American FFA Degrees, Friend of 4-H awards from Columbia County Wisconsin and Kankakee County Illinois, Livestock Conservation Institute Media Award, Friend of Cooperatives award, Illinois Soybean Association Excellence in Broadcast Media Award, Illinois AG Education Award, and in 2002 the Friend of Growmark Award presented for his many years of broadcast coverage of agricultural events and support of cooperatives. Perrine was named the Eastern Region Farm Broadcaster of the year in 2002 by the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, and earlier this year was recognized by the United Soybean Board with their 2003 Producer Communications Broadcast Media Award.

John Herath

Agritalk producer John Herath brings a background of radio news and government policy to the show. He is a native of Illinois and grew up in farm towns across the state. His radio career started in the same place as AgriTalk host Mike Adams': Jacksonville, Illinois. Herath worked alongside Adams as a general assignment reporter for WLDS Radio. He has since worked in the Bloomington and Springfield markets as news director, talk show co-host and producer. Herath comes to AgriTalk after nearly five years as chief spokesman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.