America's Heartland - Episode 304

Episode 304
	Join us as we take a look at spring time harvests in the Heartland, and that means there’s a huge demand for skilled workers to run the massive combines that gather the crop. Jason visits a special school in Kansas where migrant harvesters come from all over the world to learn the tricks of the trade. We also visit with scientists, beekeepers, and farmers to try to discover why bee colonies seem to be disappearing, and learn just how essential they are to American agriculture. And, we discover a Delaware grower who’s using to the sun to power his poultry house.

The Drive to Succeed
Those needs are especially critical at harvest, when lost time can damage farms and fortunes. But how many Heartland grain growers can afford to keep a fleet of quarter-million-dollar combines parked in the barn the rest of the year? In Edson, Kansas, we found a solution some have come up with.

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Migrant Bees
Something has been happening that concerns farmers, especially citrus and nut growers, everywhere: there’s less “buzz” in the air. Bees are disappearing. While apiarists – bee farmers – try to determine the cause of “disappearing hive syndrome,” some are seeing a new business opportunity in taking their bees on the road.

From Grove to Glass
Oranges are a not just a crop, but THE crop for thousands of growers in California, Arizona and Texas. But nowhere is the orange industry so critical as in Florida, which produces virtually all the juice oranges in the U.S. Brant Schirard, who grows for the Florida Natural juice brand, demonstrates the intricacies of creating the perfect juice orange.

Solar Powered Poultry
A Delaware farm is engaged in a unique experiment that could one day help farmers everywhere save money and, in turn, keep everyone else’s food prices down. Raising 75,000 hens takes a lot of power, but the sun providing it here from top to bottom, and owner Chick Allen may be on to something that could help Heartland poultry producers everywhere.

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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.