“Derry Brownfield --- Voice of the Heartland”

For over 20 years Derry Brownfield’s not-so-gentle talk show, “The Common Sense Coalition,” has offered politically incorrect opinions intertwined with country humor. Derry’s show has challenged and taken on big government, corporate agriculture, the stock market, global government, the United Nations, and anything else his listeners were riled up about. His advocacy for rural America and one-of-a-kind Midwestern country-boy style adds unique and special elements to the show.  Derry’s amusing yet endearing character has won over the hearts of countless listeners, friends, and neighbors, and as one of his friends says, “He can charm a possum right out of a tree.”

Raised in the heartland of America in rural Missouri, Derry was only 2 when his father died.  As an only child raised by his widowed mother and grandparents, he grew up during hard times but says his family did not suffer during the depression due to his grandfather’s perseverance in the harness business.

Derry earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and a masters in animal husbandry from the University of Missouri. He began buying farm land at a young age, gradually accumulating hundreds of acres for his farming and cattle business. Derry eventually started working with the Missouri Department of Agriculture and later became the director of the Kansas City Livestock Market Foundation.

In the early 70’s, Derry met up with Clyde Lear. Together, the two rounded up a few investors and borrowed the money that allowed them to create the Brownfield Network. The Brownfield Network débuted on January 2, 1973, with 10 stations broadcasting farm facts, crop data, weather reports, commodities news and opinions. The network ultimately boomed to 190 stations and Derry’s own show was carried by more than 80 stations nationwide.

Still broadcasting from “the heartland of America” in state of the art facilities, Derry longs for the old days of radio.  “I don’t care much for all of this [fancy stuff]. I want to broadcast with some sawdust under my feet like I did in Kansas City. That way I can spit!” Among some of the treasures adorning Derry’s office and reminiscent of the good old days are a framed, autographed picture of Roy Rogers, a hat belonging to Local 239 of the Manure Movers of America, and a picture of a smiling family with a caption that reads, “They’re happy because they eat lard.”  

Derry currently resides on his ranch in Centertown, MO, but his favorite spot on the property is the oak and cedar cabin he built overlooking a pond filled with giant lily pads.  Sprinkled with rustic family heirlooms and artifacts from ancestral dwellings, it is accessible only through a maze of gates, winding dirt roads and a couple of creek crossings.  This idyllic setting is Derry’s daily escape from a world lacking common sense.

Daily as he signs off his show with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing “Happy Trails” in the background, Derry closes with this prayer:

“May the good Lord bless and keep you whether near or far away. May the good you wish for others shine on you today. May your heart stay tuned to the music that will cheer the hearts of men. May the good Lord bless and keep you until we meet again.”