Highlights of this issue ...

Accountability. That's a word with renewed emphasis for all marketers in the agriculture industry, whether you are on the agency side developing a new campaign or you're a brand manager trying to get a budget approved. "Sales/Marketing Insights," a column written by our friends at Purdue University, discusses in part one of a series just how great a role that marketing can have on ROA and ROI, financial metrics to which top management pays particular attention.

Broadcast industry changes. Call it consolidation, call it a joint venture, call it whatever you want, but the bottom line is that key players in this industry are taking strategic steps to advance their business model and provide additional value to their audiences and to advertisers. Read about two major industry events and the players involved.

Rural lifestyle markets. It continues to grow. It continues to be a market of many segments. And it is becoming a market that many traditional ag marketers want to reach and profit from. We have part two of the summary from Market Directions' research study that describes some of the characteristics, buying habits and other variables that these segments have in common. We also feature four media companies that have developed products and programming to target this segment.

Summer Activities. We hope to see many of you at various industry events this summer ... whether at NAMA golf outings (click on the NAMA button at www.agrimarketing.com) or at the upcoming Ag Media Summit (AMS) meeting in July in Milwaukee. If you're visiting St. Louis, please stop by and visit.