America's Heartland - Episode 119

Episode 119

    Paul Ryan meets one Virginia woman who's not only raising crops and cattle, she's turned her farm into a tourist attraction.
    Jason Shoultz is in Lexington, Kentucky to find out why the organization formerly known as “Future Farmers of America” is seeking to expand its base.
    In Georgia, African American farmer Melvin Bishop found success raising hogs – but wanted to do more.
    Over the years, kiwi fruit have been showing up in more produce departments across the Heartland. What are they? Where do they come from? What are they used for? Jason Shoultz gets all the answers at a farm that’s betting its future on the kiwi.
    Paul Ryan visits an Indiana plant that’s one of the Heartland’s biggest operations for turning juicy young cucumbers into pickles for all tastes.

Women-owned Farms
Conjure up a typical image of the American farmer or rancher and you may imagine a hardworking, sunburned man. Well that’s certainly true in many instances, but truth is, the people working in American agriculture are as diverse as the folks they feed and clothe.

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FFA Convention
At first glance it may look like a national political gathering: giant TV screens and cheering crowds. But there are no politics at the FFA convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Instead, 50 thousand blue-jacketed FFA members gather each year to learn about leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

Melvin Bishop, Farmer
We’ve seen the future of American farming, and it includes a very diverse group of young people. But right here in the present, there’s another group of farmers working hard to improve their fortunes.

Kiwi Fruit
These are folks raising a funny-looking fruit that’s been around nearly 700 years but only in the U.S. for a couple of decades. Maybe the strange look and texture of the kiwi fruit has discouraged you from trying it. But Jason Shoultz discovered kiwi farmers in California are working hard to overcome your fear of this fuzzy fruit.

Pickles
There’s a specialty product that’s expanding in some new and pretty surprising directions. When most of us think of pickles, we think of two kinds – dill and sweet. Not long ago Paul visited a long-time pickle-making family in Indiana that’s come up with some amazing varieties of the crunchy cucumber and they may be heading to a store shelf near you.

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The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, Farm Credit, and the United Soybean Board make presentation of America's Heartland possible.

Additional production and promotion assistance is provided by
The American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, U.S. Grains Council,
National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National FFA Organization.