“Thanks for joining us on the Ohio Ag Net, the voice you know with the news you trust. I’m Dale Minyo!”
For nearly 30 years, that greeting has been a hallmark across Ohio’s farm community. Dale Minyo, general manager and lead farm broadcaster for Ag Net Communications, has spent his career bringing credible agricultural news to rural listeners from every corner of the state.
Minyo’s connection to agriculture runs deep. Raised on a poultry and cow-calf operation in southeastern Ohio, he attended Shenandoah High School and served several years as a state FFA officer. Though initially uncertain about pursuing college, he ultimately enrolled at The Ohio State University, where he majored in agricultural economics.
“I couldn’t see spending three or four years of my life with a big expense just to get a piece of paper,” Minyo recalled. “But I decided to do it anyway—and it turned out to be a good choice.”
After graduating, Minyo joined ABN Radio and TV in 1989, working for the late Ed Johnson, founder of Agri-Communicator and one of Ohio’s broadcasting pioneers. Minyo didn’t start behind the mic; instead, he began in radio sales. But when Johnson suffered a heart attack in the mid-1990s, conversations began about finding someone to carry on his broadcasts.
“Dad and I were trying to think of someone,” recalled Bart Johnson. “Then it hit me—the right person was already working for us in the back office.”
At first, Minyo was hesitant. “I wasn’t sure broadcasting was for me,” he said. “But after some encouragement—and another year or two—I decided to give it a try.”
In May 1995, Minyo completed his first live broadcast, marking the start of an enduring career. “Starting a program is easy,” he laughed. “It’s figuring out how to end it that can be tricky.”
Following Ed Johnson’s passing in 2001, Clear Channel purchased ABN, and Minyo stayed on through the transition. When the network later went up for sale, he briefly considered buying it himself. Instead, a new idea took shape after a conversation at home.
As Minyo remembers, “Cynthia, my wife, said, ‘Why don’t you and Bart start a new network together?’”
That conversation led to the creation of the Ohio Ag Net in 2007—a venture built from the ground up using newer, leaner technology. Gone were the days of cramped studios and countdown clocks; instead, Minyo and Johnson could broadcast from the field using mobile equipment.
“It let us rebuild relationships with the same stations Ed had visited years before,” Minyo said. “In a lot of ways, it felt like coming home.”
For both Minyo and Johnson, the launch of Ohio Ag Net represented renewal. “It brought everything full circle,” Johnson reflected. “It made us feel whole again.”
Over the years, Minyo’s steady voice became a staple of Ohio agriculture—not just reporting markets and weather, but sharing the good news and human stories behind the headlines.
“Ed always said, ‘Let’s hear the good news about agriculture,’” Minyo said. “That’s what affects everything else.”
That philosophy guided his broadcasts and his approach to leadership. “It was always important that people recognized the Ohio Ag Net name—more than mine,” he emphasized.
Now, after more than three decades of dedication, Dale Minyo is preparing to sign off for the last time. As he looks toward retirement, his influence endures—through the voices he’s inspired, the listeners he’s served, and the agricultural stories he’s helped tell for a generation.
“The world is run by those who show up,” Minyo said, still living by the motto that’s carried him from the farm to the airwaves.