Familiar local voice has book published

ST. JOSEPH, MO. (News-Press NOW) -- For years, Tom Brand was a familiar voice across northwest Missouri, delivering early morning farm reports and weather updates on local radio.

Now, the veteran broadcaster and lifelong St. Joseph resident is bringing those same stories to the printed page in his debut book, Welts on Your Butt a Calf Could Suck: Reflections on Faith, Family, and a Farm Kid’s Life.

Published by Richardson & Company Press and printed in Missouri, the book is a heartfelt collection of true stories drawn from Brand’s upbringing, career, and family life in rural America.

According to a press release on Brand's new book: "From sorting pigs with his dad to Easter sunrises in a country cemetery, Brand captures the humor, humility, and small wonders of growing up on a Missouri farm. Readers will recognize not only the local landscape, but also the values -- hard work, resilience, and connection -- that have long defined the region."

"This book is about remembering where you came from," Brand said. "The lessons that stay with you, even when the chores are done and the kids are grown."

Brand’s decades-long career in farm broadcasting took him from KFEQ in St. Joseph to national leadership as Executive Director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Through it all, he said he has stayed rooted in his hometown and never stopped collecting stories, stories that make you laugh, think and maybe even tear up a little.