The voice of FFA

LOYAL, Wis. — Bob Meyer was born with a passion for agriculture and an affinity for connecting with people. Those traits led him to the world of broadcast journalism, where he impacted the agricultural industry as he made his way into the barns and hearts of thousands. Today, his memory lives on through artificial intelligence as the voice of FFA in Wisconsin.

“Bob was a people person; he was magnetic when it came to people,” said his widow, Coni Meyer. “He loved agriculture, without question, and he loved his job. Any place he’d go — the FFA convention, World Dairy Expo, (Wisconsin) Farm Technology Days — he would take three steps and stop to talk to someone.”

Bob died Jan. 6, after a heart attack doing something Coni said he loved — working at the local food pantry in Loyal.

“I always knew one day that Jan. 6 was going to happen,” Coni said. “He enjoyed helping at the food pantry. He went there three days a week. It wasn’t that he had to be (there), it was that he wanted to be.”

After suffering his first heart attack at the age of 45, Coni said Bob squeezed every bit of life out of the next 25 years.

In central Wisconsin, Bob was a well-known farm broadcaster. His passion for public speaking was born early, as he embraced opportunities first through 4-H and then FFA.

“Bob had a relationship with the microphone,” Coni said. “It was a core part of his identity.”

In a single semester at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Bob learned he did not have the patience to pursue a 4-year degree in communications, Coni said.

“He knew where his passion was and he just wanted to get on with it,” Coni said.

Instead, Bob went to Brown Institute of Broadcasting in the Twin Cities. Fresh out of broadcasting school, Bob went on air at WDLB in Marshfield in 1974.

He and Coni were married June 18, 1977, and in November Bob left the radio station to work as the retail manager at Smith Feed Service. He stayed there until 1986, when the draw of connecting with a broader audience pulled him back to radio.

“Bob said that time working in agricultural retail gave him good insight and a different perspective when he returned to broadcasting,” Coni said. “That boots-on-the-ground retail experience allowed him to understand the industry from the retail perspective.”

Bob returned to WDLB/WLJY as the program director and soon became the assistant farm director for Goetz Farm Radio Network, which eventually led to Bob joining the Brownfield Ag News team, where he was heard on more than 350 stations in 10 states. He was then inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2023.

After 30 years on air, Bob transitioned to a more local role as an agricultural loan officer at Citizens State Bank of Loyal, where he retired in 2021.

As a member of the agriculture community, Bob’s appreciation for FFA began as a member of the Loyal FFA Chapter. Bob served as the Wisconsin FFA state sentinel for 1972-1973. His dedication to the blue and gold jacket stayed with him throughout his lifetime.

For that allegiance, the Wisconsin Association of FFA presented the Meyer family with the VIP Award in Bob’s memory at their recent convention.

“People called Bob the voice of Wisconsin FFA,” Coni said. “He did the introductions at the convention every year for 32 years. It was something he didn’t want to give up when he retired from radio, so he put in a recording studio in his home office.”

Each year, Bob developed lasting relationships with members of the state officer teams.

“He got to know the different teams so well,” Coni said. “He was the first interview they did, right away at 5 a.m., the morning after they were announced, almost like their baptism as a state officer.”

Keeping the FFA tradition alive was important to Bob and remains important to Coni.

“We were at a funeral last fall, sitting with a couple of former state officers, including one who works backstage at the FFA convention,” Coni said. “Bob told them that day, ‘You’ve got enough of my voice; with A.I., you could keep using it.’”

With Bob’s wishes made known, Coni gave her approval after he passed.

“I reminded that gentleman at Bob’s wake in January that Wisconsin FFA had free rein with his voice,” Coni said. “Bob would love nothing more than to continue on being the voice of FFA.”

Using the introductions recorded last year for the 2025-2026 officer team, Bob’s pre-recorded introduction was seamlessly tweaked to fit the occasion.

“That was the most challenging part of going to convention, knowing I was going to hear him announce that,” Coni said. “There was only one piece they needed to use AI, and that part you couldn’t even tell; the rest was his life, his voice. The joy is, the countdown will probably always be his, but the introduction of each officer, it will sound just like him.”

Being active in his community was an extension of who Bob was. He volunteered on the executive committees for the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days in 2005, 2018 and 2022. Outside of agriculture, he spent years announcing basketball, volleyball and football games for the students in the School District of Loyal.

“He loved it, especially the kids he got to know,” Coni said. “They’ve been so used to his voice, it was challenging for them to walk in and hear a different voice.”

The key to Bob’s ability to cultivate those deep relationships came from his listening skills, Coni said.

“He was always engaged when he talked to people,” Coni said. “People responded to that, and it allowed him to build those meaningful relationships, the kind that develop and add layers as the years pass. That was the most remarkable thing I realized at the convention — how many people he had connected with, like that, over the years, and how much he had meant to so many people.”