Broadcast Pioneer and Land Conservation Advocate Ted Turner Dies at 87

Turner built one of the nation’s largest private land holdings while becoming a major force in bison ranching and conservation.

LAMONT, Fla. (RFD News) Ted Turner, one of America’s largest individual landowners and a longtime advocate for land preservation, died at the age of 87. Turner is widely known for transforming television news after launching CNN, the nation’s first 24-hour news network.

As his media empire expanded, so did his landholdings, eventually growing to roughly 2 million acres across 8 states and 13 ranches.

Much of his agricultural focus centered on expanding bison populations in the West, with his herd growing to approximately 45,000 head over the years.

Turner also became known for conservation and wildlife restoration efforts across his properties, including efforts to preserve open land and protect native ecosystems.

In 2018, Turner publicly revealed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disease.

Related Stories
ASFMRA’s Skye Root joins us to discuss shifts in Western farmland markets, financial pressures facing producers, and the outside forces influencing land values and decision-making.
Researchers say stronger rootstocks are helping growers fight citrus greening.
The Natchitoches facility is raising endangered species while supporting conservation efforts across the region.
The Overstreet family’s cattle operation combines conservation practices with decades of resilience.
UT Institute of Agriculture reporter Charles Denney visited a class at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, where students in the School of Natural Resources traded traditional classrooms for hands-on outdoor learning.
Accessing land is one of the biggest challenges facing the next generation of farmers and ranchers.

Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Cattle imports from Mexico remain stalled amid the New World screwworm outbreak. At the same time, Tyson closures add pressure on Nebraska producers and markets ahead of the USDA’s upcoming Cattle on Feed Report.
Georgia has regained its HPAI-free status after a swift response to October’s detection. Commissioner Tyler Harper urges producers to stay vigilant and maintain biosecurity.
While this month’s WASDE report will not include updated figures on U.S. crop size, officials say it will offer a clearer picture of crop conditions in the Southern Hemisphere.
USTR Jamieson Greer signals a narrower trade deal with China, adding more market uncertainty. The Farm Bureau also supports reviewing China’s missed trade commitments under the Phase One.
Southern producers head into 2026 with thin margins, tighter credit, and rising agronomic risks despite scattered yield improvements.
Record yields and exceptionally low BCFM strengthen U.S. corn’s competitive position in global markets.
Agriculture Shows
Hosted by Scott “The Cow Guy” Shellady and RFD News Markets Specialist Tony St. James, Commodity Talk delivers expert insight into the day’s ag commodity markets just before the CME opens. Only on RFD-TV and Rural Radio SiriusXM Channel 147.
A look at the news, weather and commodities headlines that drove agriculture markets in the past week.
Everything profits from prairie. Soil, air, water — and all kinds of life! Learn how you can improve your land with prairie restoration, cover crops and prairie strips, while growing your bottom line.
Special 3-part series tells the story of the Claas family’s legacy, which changed agriculture forever.