America's Heartland - Episode 321

Episode 321
	This week we look at how technology is changing agriculture in America's Heartland. Reporter Jason Shoultz examines how the internet has dramatically altered the way that farmers, ranchers and growers get and exchange information. Reporter Jim Finnerty travels to the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois where automation engineers are doing cutting edge research on robotic weeders and tractors that drive themselves. Pat McConahay is in Illinois and California where two of the largest agricultural expositions in the country display inventions that let farmers work smarter not harder. And Jason heads to Iowa where scientists are researching the starches that come from a single kernel of corn. It could have dramatic ramifications for our food and health.

Crops and Computers
In this internet age, more and more farmers are spending time at a computer keyboard. Farmers use the internet to increase productivity and to keep up with current conditions. And the website for the USDA is a place to check on the latest farming regulations and information. And websites with forums give farmers an opportunity to talk with each other!

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Space Age Farming
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign are developing “robotic” weeders. - computerized self contained machines that run on batteries or solar power. But weeds are only part of the story when it comes to automation. Automation engineers want to expand that technology to develop robotic tractors as well.

Looking for the Latest
When agriculture’s top inventors and marketers come up with what they hope will be farming’s next big thing, it stands to reason they will then want a place to show it off. Welcome to the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. This show as well as the World Ag Expo in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley of California is at the center of the ag world.

Kernel Potential
Some farmers in Iowa are thinking about chemistry as well as taste. Working with engineers and researchers at Iowa State University, they’re developing corn kernels whose chemistry can be altered to make the starch digest slower, which can alter the insulin response and the release of glucose into the bloodstream.

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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.