Farm Bureau News Staff
Editor
Neil Melancon
Neil Melançon is the editor of the Louisiana Farm Bureau News and Assistant Communications Director at Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
Neil has been with Farm Bureau since 1996 and has served in a variety of public relations functions, including webmaster, TWILA producer, writer and former general manager of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-news Radio Network (LFBARN).
In 2003, Neil was the first reporter from TWILA to travel abroad for the show, reporting from Japan on the status of rice trade between the two countries. In 2005, he was recognized by the National Association of Farm Broadcasters for his efforts in covering the aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Neil holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Louisiana Tech and a Master’s of Mass Communication from LSU. He is married to Sherry, a biologist, and they reside in Baton Rouge.
A native of New Orleans, in his spare time he practices martial arts.
Publisher
Avery Davidson
Avery Davidson is the Director of Communications at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and co-host of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.
For most of his career, Avery worked in broadcasting. Avery started his career at KANE AM 1240 in New Iberia and moved into television in 1995 when he went to work for KATC TV-3 in Lafayette. In 1999, Avery accepted a job at WAFB, Channel 9 in Baton Rouge where he worked as a producer, videographer, reporter and weekend anchor.
In 2008, Avery went to work for the Louisiana Farm Bureau as the Executive Producer of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture and he’s been there ever since.
Avery is married to his wife Lauren and has three sons, Adam, Luke and Logan.
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR AND contributor
Kristen Oaks-White
Kristen Oaks-White is the co-host of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture and the social media coordinator for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
What happens when you combine a colorful storyteller with a deep-seated passion for agriculture? Kristen Oaks-White.
Kristen grew up on a poultry and cattle farm in Calhoun, LA and showed Angus cattle for 12 years. In fact, her debut on TWILA was in June of 2004 during "Beef Month” while she was serving as the 2004 Louisiana Cattlemen's Association Queen.
From those experiences with media, she decided to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism at Louisiana State University. In 2009, Kristen graduated from LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication with a Bachelor of Arts and a minor in Agriculture Business.
Since 2010, Kristen has traveled across the state and the nation, telling the story of Louisiana’s farmers and ranchers for This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. In addition to sharing the story of agriculture with the consuming public, she’s also living the life of a “farmer’s wife” at home. Her husband, Landon, farms 10,000 acres of grain with his family on their farm in Concordia Parish.
contributor
Don Molino
Don Molino has spent his entire career on the radio. A native of Paris, Texas, Don earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism from East Texas State University before joining the U.S. Army, where he served as a Broadcast Specialist, Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone.
Following his time in the Army, Don entered Dallas, Texas media market where he was the weekend sports anchor for WFAA-TV and news anchor for WFAA and KRLD radio. That was followed by a move to Mississippi where he was news director for the Mississippi Agricultural and News Network. Don made his final career move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1980 where he has spent the last 36 years as a news and farm broadcaster for the Louisiana Radio Network and the Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network.
Throughout his career, Don has been an active member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. He is a former NAFB national and regional vice-president.
In March of 2017, Don was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters. In 2018, he was named the Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.
Don and his wife, Laura, have been married for 12 years. They have three children.
contributor
Karl Wiggers
Karl Wiggers is a video specialist at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation and executive producer for This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.
Karl grew up working on his family’s cotton farm in Northeast Louisiana. Karl’s love for agriculture comes from that upbringing, but his passion for telling the story of Louisiana farmers comes from Mike Danna, the former host of TWILA who passed away in 2015.
Karl has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in digital media production from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. He began working at Louisiana Farm Bureau in January of 2016.
Karl is married to Brittany, a family nurse practitioner, and they live in Baton Rouge.
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