Southeast AgNet Radio Network: History, Programs and Broadcasters
Profile updated November 2026
Southeast AgNet is a regional farm radio network serving Florida, Georgia and Alabama with daily agricultural news on more than 60 radio signals. It began in 1984 as Independent Florida Agrinet, Florida's first farm radio network, and is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Gary Cooper and Robin Loftin through AgNet Media, Inc., which also publishes Citrus Industry magazine. This page covers its history, programs, broadcasters and audience.
| Founded | 1984, as Independent Florida Agrinet |
|---|---|
| Renamed | Southeast AgNet Radio Network, 1994 |
| Owners | Gary Cooper and Robin Loftin |
| Parent company | AgNet Media, Inc., Newberry, Florida (named 2013) |
| Reach | 60-plus radio signals in Florida, Georgia and Alabama |
| Sister properties | AgNet West, Citrus Industry magazine, Citrus Expo |
| Official website | SoutheastAgNet.com |
History of Southeast AgNet
Gary Cooper launched Independent Florida Agrinet in 1984 as the state's first farm radio network. Robin Loftin, who later became his wife and business partner, joined in 1989 after working in sales at a local radio station. As the network expanded beyond Florida it took the name Southeast AgNet Radio Network in 1994.
The company grew into a small agricultural media group. In 2005 it acquired Citrus Industry magazine, first published in 1920, along with the Citrus Expo trade show founded in 1992. It bought the agricultural book publisher Florida Science Source in 2009 and Pest Pro magazine in 2008; Pest Pro was discontinued in 2014 and donated to the University of Florida's urban entomology laboratory. Since 2014 the company has also published Florida Turf Digest under contract.
In 2012 Cooper and Loftin took the model west, partnering on AgNet West in California, which they fully absorbed in 2013, the same year the parent firm adopted the name AgNet Media, Inc. Along the way the network built its on-air bench; in November 2008, for example, Julie McPeake, a former Georgia Beef Board public relations director raised on a Florida livestock and crop farm, became anchor of its news programs.
Southeast AgNet Today
The network now airs seven daily farm news headline programs, customized for Alabama, Florida and Georgia, and claims coverage of about 90% of the region's farm acreage. Its weekly e-newsletter, Southeast AgNet This Week, reaches more than 10,000 southeastern farmers, and its website draws more than 30,000 monthly visitors.
Coverage in mid-2026 included Florida Cattle Enhancement Board research on New World screwworm, the board's year-end funding round and new precision spraying robotics, reflecting the mix of cattle, citrus and row crop news that defines the region.
What Southeast AgNet Is Covering Now
Commodity headlines
Daily reports follow the markets and issues behind the Southeast's major commodities, including citrus, corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans and livestock.
Grazing the Facts
The network's podcast gives cattle and forage topics more time than a two-minute radio report allows.
Features and industry news
Long-running feature categories, association news from groups such as the Alabama Cattlemen's Association and sponsor content round out the website.
Southeast AgNet Editors and Staff
Southeast AgNet's own pages list these owners and farm radio professionals:
- Gary Cooper - Founder and co-owner
- Robin Loftin - Co-owner
- Clint Thompson - Farm radio professional
- Randall Weiseman - Farm radio professional
- Tyron Spearman - Farm radio professional
The network says its broadcasters have more than 100 years of combined farm radio experience. Advertising inquiries go to Sales@AgNetMedia.com.
Who Listens to Southeast AgNet
Listeners are row crop farmers in south Georgia and the Alabama Wiregrass, Florida citrus growers, vegetable and specialty crop producers, and cattle ranchers across the region, along with the agribusinesses that serve them.
Cattle are a major share of that audience. USDA's Economic Research Service reports that cattle accounted for $72.9 billion, or 37%, of U.S. animal product receipts in 2021, and Florida, Georgia and Alabama each have substantial cow-calf sectors documented in the Census of Agriculture.
Southeast AgNet listeners deal with hurricanes, peanut prices and screwworm alerts, and a good laugh is welcome in between. farm.FM provides one, with farm satire that would fit right in at a Wiregrass gin or a Florida cattle sale. Cracker cattle ranchers and Georgia peanut farmers alike will find farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes there.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
Southeast AgNet Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Southeast AgNet: About the company - the network's history and AgNet Media holdings.
- Southeast AgNet: About the radio network - stations and programs in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
- Southeast AgNet: New SE AgNet anchor - a 2008 staff announcement.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - the national value of cattle and other livestock.
- USDA NASS: Census of Agriculture - state and county farm data for the Southeast.
Southeast AgNet FAQ
When did Southeast AgNet start?
It began in 1984 as Independent Florida Agrinet and took the Southeast AgNet name in 1994.
Who owns Southeast AgNet?
Gary Cooper and Robin Loftin, through AgNet Media, Inc. of Newberry, Florida.
Which states does Southeast AgNet cover?
Florida, Georgia and Alabama, with headlines customized for each state.
Does Southeast AgNet publish magazines?
Its parent, AgNet Media, publishes Citrus Industry magazine and runs the Citrus Expo trade show.
Four decades after Florida's first farm radio network went on air, Southeast AgNet still brings daily farm news to growers and ranchers across three states.