On The Road Again!

May 5, 2008

On the road again.

Got an email from a viewer suggesting some story ideas and asking just how we pick the stories we feature. Well, as the series producer, I look for stories that focus on the important crops to our farmers, growers and to our country. We often forget that American agriculture plays a major role in our global economy and in providing the food that people depend on in many parts of the world.
We’re always looking for “people” stories as well. There is a joy bringing viewers a story with someone who is excited about what they do and the impact is has on others. So we look for visual, engaging and emotional stories. We are shooting some stories in Florida this week on “harvesting” the seas for clams and oysters. We’ll also meet a man whose bees make a very special kind of honey. Then we’re off to North Carolina to see how furniture is made from soybean foam instead of petroleum products. We’ll also stop by a huge greenhouse operation that supplies plants to a major portion of the U.S. We did some background research on floriculture and were amazed to find it is a multi BILLION dollar agricultural industry in the United States. Small plants...big business!
Jim Finnerty
Series Producer
America’s Heartland

Planting Season

April 21, 2008

Planting Season.

We’re all across the country these days getting ready for a new season of America’s Heartland. Jason Shoultz was just in Minnesota where he did a story on a community where turkey litter is being converted to electricity. He also captured a wonderful story about a woman whose rural art features the plants and animals that are iconic to America’s Heartland. We’ll be heading across the Midwest and Southeast very soon as planting begins on corn, wheat, soybeans and sorghum. It’s been a late season for planting in some areas thanks to spring snow and lots of rain that keep the fields too wet to plow. I was just shooting some stories in Texas where the cotton crop is just going in. We also did a story on Texas winemaking. Texas wine? As one grower told me, “In this part of Texas we have cotton, we have cattle and we have cabernet.” They are moving into viticulture in a big...big way. But hey, it’s Texas. This will be our fourth season and we did a back of the envelope tally and came up with close to 350 stories that we’ve shot and produced for our viewers on PBS and RFD TV. A lot of people love the visuals...wide open spaces...fields of grain....rich dark soil on the plains....and we’re shooting the new season in High Definition, so those images should be even more striking in season four.
Jim Finnerty
Series Producer
America’s Heartland

Happy Holidays

It's December 11th, and as my 3 year old son reminds me, just days until Christmas. This is a busy time for everyone (shopping, decorating, baking) so it's important to take a moment and reflect.

Much of the Midwest is dealing with a snow and ice storm right now and hopefully safe in their homes. If the ice hasn't knocked out power to your home, what a perfect time to sit back and watch all of those TiVo'd episodes of America's Heartland!

I recently did a tally of all the places I've visited over the past couple of years and it's quite impressive! 18 states...32 airports! In each one of these places I've met some of the nicest, most welcoming folks a person could ask for. If you are one of the people who has been a part of the TV show, thanks again for your hospitality. If we haven't yet had the occasion to tell your story and you'd like to share it, please drop us a line! And to the millions of viewers across the U.S. who have honored us with your loyal viewership, thank you.

Nearing the End of (our) Growing Season

It seems hard to believe, but it's already the time of year when leaves turn golden and the combines finish their non-stop rumbling through the fields of America's Heartland. Fall is upon us -- time to reflect on the season's successes and failures, to enjoy the crisp cold evenings and tardy sunrises, and to ponder what lies ahead next season.

Here at the America's Heartland, we're busy putting the finishing touches on the last four episodes of our third season. This year, we're proud to report that we achieved our goal of visiting all 50 states (you can feel special, Rhode Island -- we saved you for last!).

We were constantly amazed at the incredible variety of crops, commodities, and kinds of people we encountered. We were repeatedly impressed with the ingenuity, resourcefulness and business savvy of the average American farmer. And most of all, we were touched time and again by the warmth and hospitality of everyone we met.

Thanks to everyone who opened up their farms, homes and hearts to our production teams. And thanks to all of our viewers who've found us on their local PBS station, on RFD-TV, or here on our website. We hope you'll agree we did our job and covered this fascinating topic just a little better this season than last. We'll offer our promise that we will strive to improve even more next season!

Now, as most of you know, each local PBS station runs America's Heartland on its own schedule, so some of you may have quite a few season 3 episodes left to watch. But keep an eye out for some of our themed shows: the one where we spent "dawn to dusk" with a North Dakota farm family turned out pretty well, we think...and we learned a lot about how American ingenuity helped bring water to some of our country's most arid (but potentially fertile) regions. We were astounded by what we learned about the Hoover Dam, and we think you will be too.

For now, we'll say thanks once again, and please remember to write us with your comments and story ideas.

Mike Sanford
America's Heartland

Behind the Scenes

We often hear how much viewers appreciate the beautiful images of America's Heartland. It is truly of the best things about the show. Here's my chance to introduce you to the two guys who capture most of that great footage.

Brad White (that's him there with the black t-shirt on) is a veteran photojournalist who has traveled to more countries than I dare begin to count. This photo is myself, Brad and Corky Cooprider at the Kansas State Fair. Corky was our guide/chaperone/historian for our season one segment. After 12 state fairs, she knows her way around the grounds. (Just stay out of her way when she's driving the golf cart). If Brad were looking at that photo, he would likely say, "Too much headroom. Zoom in!"

Brad's right hand man is a guy named Steve Riggs. He started shooting segments for America's Heartland in season two and is responsible for most of the video in season three. Steve and I often laugh about all of the corners of this great country that we've seen! Look for Steve's attention to detail in upcoming segments about abandoned grain elevators in Buffalo, New York, crop-dusting in Mississippi and the Hoover Dam.

That's Steve there cradling his baby ('er camera) at the "Geographic Center of the USA." It seems some of our best adventures on the road for this show happen in Kansas. The geographic center is located a few miles from the small town of Lebanon.

(A clarification is in order for you geography buffs. This is the center of the LOWER 48 STATES. Factoring in Alaska and Hawaii puts it in Butte County, South Dakota. There are websites dedicated to both if you are interested.)

But enough about geographic centers and state fairs. If you are impressed with the images you see in America's Heartland you are not alone, and these are the guys to thank.

Harvests, Hondas, and All Things Heartland

It’s harvest time throughout much of the Heartland, and of course that means the show's staff is running at maximum rpm. It's a good time of year for us. Besides having that once-a-year chance to capture all the frantic harvest activity on Heartland farms and ranches, the temperatures are back down to a rational level, and the light -- that primal element governing all photography -- is at its most beautiful. The pictures we're getting now will warm the hearts of Heartland fans during the cold months of winter, when many of our stations and RFD-TV are airing the later batch of our 22 new episodes.

So will a number of the stories we have lined up: the winter wheat harvest in Oklahoma, the durum wheat harvest on the plains of North Dakota. Both awesome spectacles evoking that iconic American image of "amber waves of grain." Durum wheat being milled into semolina, then into some of the best pasta your supermarket dollar can buy.

There's a fishing village in New Jersey and a "you-pick" farm in Alaska, where customers have one chance to get fresh greens for their table in an incredibly short growing season. There's one of the world's biggest peanut butter processing plants in New Mexico, of all places. By the way, we learned there is actually a word to describe the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth! Track down episode number 305 this fall, and you'll be able to impress your friends with that bit of trivia all winter long.

Following shows will fill you in on the challenges of growing the ubiquitous soybean, and an unusual relationship the Honda car company has with soybean growers in Ohio.

Some offbeat stories are coming your way as well. A veritable city of mammoth grain elevators on Lake Erie's edge in Buffalo, New York -- completely abandoned, and pretty weird. A south Florida "farm" that grows tropical fruits. One favorite fruit reveals what looks like raw kidney when it's cracked open. And our first ghost story will close out one coming episode: a not-quite-right restaurant in a tiny Great Plains town.

Our crews are still out there. If you see us, say "hi" and tell us what YOU would like to see on America's Heartland. We love getting your ideas. They help keep us down to earth, where America’s best television program about agriculture belongs!

Pat on the Prairie

Pat’s Blog for North Dakota

This is my second trip to the great state of North Dakota. What an agricultural state it is. It’s especially evident this time of year when the sunflowers are in bloom and the fields stretch as far as the eye can see. A person can’t help but feel good when you see a sunflower. They’ll be ready for harvest in a few weeks and off to a plant to be turned into oil.

Sunflowers are sharing the landscape with wheat. It’s the height of harvest for those “amber waves of grain”. I was impressed by the fact that virtually everything else stops for the farmer and his family during this busy time of year. Harvesting continues way into the night. One motel where we stayed the manager had to leave that evening so she could help her husband in the fields.

Seeing that dedication will help me appreciate my bread and pasta even more!