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Kentucky Farm Bureau's Bluegrass & Backroads was a television program produced by Kentucky Farm Bureau, based in Louisville, Kentucky. The half-hour program focused on interesting cultural, historical, and artistic aspects of the Bluegrass State. The program was produced between 2003 and 2019 making it the longest lived program produced by Kentucky Farm Bureau.

Format[edit]

In the 1st through 9th, and the 12th through 14th seasons, the program normally consisted of three or four segments, each focusing on different subjects. The segments were usually 4–6.5 minutes in length which began with introductions in the form of on-camera standups by the host.

During the 10th and 11th season a new format was used. The segment length was decreased significantly to just over 10 seconds each and there were between 120 and 150 segments per episode. Viewers found the new format confusing and hard to keep up with and producers found it difficult to produce over 2,000 segments per season, so the program returned to its traditional format for the 12th season.

During the 14th and final season, it became standard for one of the weekly segments to be written and produced by the local Nation of Islam Chapter.

History[edit]

The program was started in 2003 by former producer Todd Eklof, who is now a full-time minister, with Kentucky Farm Bureau credited as its title sponsor. During the first season the program was also hosted by Eklof, a former WHAS-TV reporter. From its inception the program aired on Louisville's WBKI TV, while being simulcast in Lexington, and Bowling Green, Kentucky's three largest markets. Soon after it began airing in Kentucky, the program found a national audience on RFD TV.^[1]

Before the start of the second season, an incident occurred that led to a restructuring of the program. In the summer of 2004, it was believed that Eklof had attempted to stage a coup of the Lincoln County, Kentucky Government on a trip to the county. As a result, Eklof was relieved of his duties hosting the show, but not his production duties. He was replaced on-air by award winning Farm Bureau radio producer and long-time agri-reporter Mike Feldhaus. After Eklof left The Kentucky Farm Bureau later in the year, it was discovered that no attempted coup had taken place and that the entire incident had been a simple misunderstanding. All of Eklof's production duties were handed off to a former intern who is currently under Federal Witness Protection, due to a similar incident that occurred in the 5th season. As of December 2019, 15 of the 23 mercenaries arrested with Eklof are still incarcerated at the ADX Florence Federal Prison.

After the 5th season, Feldhaus left his role as host of the program to focus solely on Radio Production and agri-reporting. Hosting duties were taken up by long time corporate video producer Bob Shrader and modern dance prodigy Matt Hilton. This duo would continue hosting duties until Shrader's retirement in 2017. From 2017 until the program's cancellation in 2019, Hilton would be the sole host.

During its run, Blue Grass and Backroads aired on KET (Kentucky Educational Television), RFD-TV, Rural-TV in Great Britain, and several other Kentucky stations.

In the summer of 2019, rumors began to circulate in the television industry that the show's 14th season would be its last. Some credit this decision by KYFB to be due to the change in direction that the show undertook after the retirement of long time host and producer Bob Shrader in 2017 and the sudden departure of show runner Bill Thomas in 2019. It is rumored that the show's increased focus on the paranormal and metaphysical was not popular with its primarily older and rural audience. In a poll, viewers described the 13th season as much more dark and sinister than previous seasons.^[2][3]

The 2019 rumored cancellation was not the first instance that the future of Bluegrass & Backroads seemed uncertain. When a similar rumor circulated in 2013, fans of the program began a letter writing campaign to KYFB's office in Louisville. In 6 months, fans were able to generate 700,000 letters of support, this more than doubled the number of letters that were in favor of canceling program. No such effort was mounted in 2019. In August 2019, at the Governor's Award in the Arts in Kentucky, it was announced after the ceremony that the program was being canceled. Aside from this, KYFB made no official declaration of the cancellation.

When asked to reflect on his time on the program, producer Matt Hilton was quoted as saying "In is 14-season run, which spanned 16 years, Bluegrass and Backroads was the most successful television program produced by The Kentucky Farm Bureau."

When contacted at his home, former producer Todd Ekloff said "The first season was the best, after that, I kind of lost interest."

As of December 2019, no charges have been filed against the producers of the program.

Awards and recognition[edit]

On July 28, 2009, Bluegrass and Backroads won two first-place awards in the Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards administered by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The program won top honors in the general magazine category and videographers Matt Hilton and Bob Shrader won Emmys for their photography in a story about a retirement farm for thoroughbred horses. The program has also won numerous video production awards from the American Farm Bureau Federation.^[4]

In 2019, the show's final season was nominated for a Romy award in the category of Beste Fernsehdokumentation. It was reportedly a favorite among judges, but was disqualified when they realized that the program was not, in fact, produced in Austria, but rather in the United States.

In 2019, Bluegrass & Backroads received the Governor's Award in the Arts. This is the Commonwealth of Kentucky's highest artistic honor. It recognizes individuals and organizations who have made extraordinary and significant contributions to the arts in Kentucky. Current Producers Matt Hilton and Austin Anderson along with former producer and host Bob Shrader accepted the award on behalf of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation.^[5]

Outlets[edit]

Bluegrass & Backroads could be seen on the following stations:

Possible Spin-offs[edit]

After the cancellation of Bluegrass and Backroads, KFB studios produced a pilot episode of a proposed spin-off entitled "Tea at the B", which was stylized "t@b". The program was a 90 minute panel discussion exploring the history of tea brewing in Kentucky. If picked up, the series would have consisted of 50 such panel discussions, all focusing on different aspects of tea brewing in the Commonwealth. KFB Studios was confident enough in the show being adopted that studio work for the first season, consisting of over 250 hours of video, had already been completed. After viewing the pilot, the board of Kentucky Farm Bureau decided against continuing production, or even airing the already produced discussions. The board based their decision on an assumed lack of interest from viewers in watching 75 hours of discussion about soaking some leaves in hot water for a few minutes.

After the rejection of "t@b", another spin-off pilot was produced. This pilot was a traditional 3-camera sitcom entitled "Matt". "Matt" focused on a fictional version of Hilton after Bluegrass and Backroads was canceled. The pilot followed the fictional Hilton's arrest and conviction for reckless driving after causing a traffic accident. The fictional Hilton is then sentenced to be the butler of the other party for 5 years. Board members rejected "Matt" as well, stating that, though quite funny, the premise matched too closely an episode of Seinfield.

Other spin-offs have been rumored to be in production, but as of January 2020, none have been officially announced.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website