"America's Heartland is made
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CropLife America.
And it's member companies

and associations in the
crop protection industry

including:

The American Farm Bureau
Foundation for Agriculture.

Dedicated to building
greater awareness and

understanding of agriculture
through education

and engagement.

More information at:
agfoundation.org

Farm Credit - financing
agriculture and rural

America since 1916.

Farm Credit is cooperatively
owned by America's

farmers and ranchers.

Learn more at
farmcredit.com

The Fund for Agriculture
Education - A fund created

by KVIE to support
America's Heartland programming.

Contributors include the
following:

High there, I'm Rob Stewart.

Do you buy your produce at
the local farmers market?

Well a growing
number of people

are doing that these days.

So coming up, we'll
take you down south to

Alabama to see how some
farmers are meeting consumer

demands with fruits and
vegetables grown close to home.

Hi, I'm Sarah Gardner.

Have you ever thought about
becoming a farmer or a rancher?

We'll head to New Mexico
to take part in a unique

program that helps people
get a start in agriculture.

Hi, I'm Sharon Vaknin.
Sweet corn is a summer favorite

but what if we show you some
recipes where

we kick in some "spice"
when we serve it up?

We have some unusual sweet
corn recipes you're going to

want to serve up
at your house.

Hi, I'm Jason Shoultz.

Coming up next,
a cattle roundup.

But this time we're
not head out west.

We're going to go to
the state of Florida.

Take a trip with us to find
out about a heritage breed

known as Cracker Cattle.

It's all coming up on
America's Heartland.

♪ You can see it in the eyes
of every woman and man ♪

♪ in America's Heartland
living close to the land. ♪

♪ There's a love
for the country ♪

♪ and a pride in the brand ♪

♪ in America's Heartland
living close, ♪

♪close to the land ♪

♪

Many of the animals on
farms and ranches

across the heartland can
trace their roots

back explorers arriving
here in the Americas.

And here in Florida one
unique breed of cattle has

been roaming the countryside
since the 1500's.

♪
(cow mooing)

These cattle grazing
in the brushy

Florida pasture have a name.

And unless you're
a Florida native,

that name might just
catch you off guard.

These are "Cracker cattle."

And William and Margaret
Broussard are proud of this

heritage breed of cattle
that they are preserving

here at the
Crescent J Ranch.

William Broussard is a
10th generation cattleman.

Without his family's
efforts...

and those of other ranchers
in the Sunshine State,

this historic breed might
just have ended up as a

footnote in the agricultural
history of America.

We decided to take part in
trying to save the breed

which is critically
in danger.

There are not enough of them
to assure their survival.

So we got started in the
early 80's working on that.

The original Cracker Cattle
breed was brought to Florida

by explorer Ponce de
Léon in the 1500s.

They wandered the swampy,
brushy countryside for

hundreds of years.

Decades back...

ranchers used"Cow Hunters"
to work their herds.

Preserving that
ranching story

is the job of
Chester Newcomb.

At the Lake
Kissimmee State Park,

Chester takes visitors back
to the late 1800s

when Cracker Cattle
roamed the countryside.

This part of Florida, we
look at almost 300 years

before man started to
put a brand on a cow.

I mean one of the reasons
they called us cow hunters,

you go out in the swamp here
trying to find a cow

be like trying to find hair on
the belly of a frog.

You know.

The "cracker" name actually
traces back to the way that

cow hunters rounded up
these bovine...

by cracking their whips!

(Sound of whip
being cracked!)

Now of course you will
find in the big cities now,

folks are starting to
call us Crackers

instead of cow hunters.

As other cattle breeds were
introduced and breeding

improved, the original
"cracker cattle"

began disappearing...
replaced with larger animals.

It wasn't until they almost
were extinct in the 1960's

did an effort begin to
save the "cracker breed."

For the Broussard's,
preserving the cattle breed

and the ecology here, have
a deeply personal meaning.

In 1990 their 29 year
old son Allan died of an

infection following
a heart transplant.

Before Allan died,

he had a conversation with
his father in the hospital.

...we got to talking a lot
about the land just south of

what is the
Crescent J Ranch.

Which was pretty much in
good natural condition and

how rare that was getting
and how important it was

to save things like that.

So he asked me if I
couldn't do something.

So that weekend
I promised him

I was going to do my best
to do that.

That promise is realized
every day

as visitors tour the grounds

of this nearly 5-thousand
acre ranch and preserve.

(Girl yells as she
is lowered down)

A low-environmental impact
adventure park

helps pay for the property and
helps ensure the land

will stay preserved for future
generations.

Would Allan be proud of
his dream being realized?

I would think so.

Margaret: His widow said yes
he would be proud of that.

But the thing he would be
most proud of is the way he

changed his
father's attitude.

A father's enduring love for
his son...

forever linked to
the enduring effort

to save a breed of cattle
with a history

that stretches hundreds
of years.

♪

Branding cattle didn't start
in the old west.

Early Egyptians were
branding their livestock

more than two
thousand years ago.

There are more than a
billion cows in the world....

India, alone, has
some three hundred million.

And just be glad that
cows don't drive.

Cattle are red/green
color blind.

Getting a start in farming
requires you to take on new

skills and a commitment
to hard work.

So, where to do you begin?

Well, here in New Mexico
a special program helps

students get their
interest off the ground.

♪

These residents from the
small New Mexico town of

Chaparral are
taking the first steps to

acquire farming skills.

Growing their own fruits and
vegetables will not only

benefit the economically
disadvantaged community,

but help overcome the
challenge of

getting fresh produce when the
nearest supermarket

is nearly an hour away.

And so we partnered with
other community based

organizations here in
Chaparral to start a

demonstration farm as a
means of educating local

residents about the types of
crops and how to grow them.

The training underway in
Chaparral

is being funded by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture

and taught through
an extension program

at New Mexico State
University.

It's locally
known as El Solar.

El Solar is a Spanish
name for backyard garden.

More than two dozen
students at a time

will work on this
demonstration farm

learning a variety of skills

from proper planting to
efficient irrigation.

We've relied on the
expertise of a number of

individuals who've had
experience with the drip.

And it is, we couldn't do
this without the drip system.

There's just not enough
water in the area

to produce like this.

And you were pointing out
to me earlier

obviously the chili will be
fine because they thrive

in the hot temperatures
and the drier earth

as well as the tomatoes.

But, you don't get a stand
of lettuce like this

without the drip
irrigation system.

It's absolutely beautiful.

The drip is very
instrumental in keeping our

leafy crops going this long.

And, of course, we can
provide shade as we've done

with our radishes
over there.

And so, yeah, the drip
allows us too to provide a

variety of crops and
regulate the water

on each of the crops.

A number of extension
instructors assist

with the agricultural
education efforts.

First you have to teach how
to grow organic and for them

to see the process from
planting

all the way through selling the
product,

and more than anything

to teach them to that they can
go and do it at their home

One person who
has benefited greatly from

the course is Esperanza
Briones

She has turned her property
into a farm

that's filled with fresh
produce.

So tell me about the skills
that you've learned

in the urban farm.

(translator repeats
question in Spanish)

I've learned to conserve water
with this irrigation system.

And it looks like it's paid
off for the family because

not only do you have
fruits and vegetables

that you feed your family,

but you also sell a lot
of what you grow.

I do sell a little bit, and
my husband helps me a lot

so my biggest satisfaction
is that I can

provide for my family.

Younger "apprentice" farmers
are also active in the program.

The thing that I
enjoy the most

is probably helping
our community

do something with our land that
we have here.

And what I enjoy most is
planting the plants and

watching them grow so
later on we can eat them.

"You going to take all this
to the farmer's market

in Las Cruces, mostly?"

Yeah.

Another aspect of the
training helps the

new farmers see
opportunities for marketing

the produce they
won't use themselves.

You have to be able to
market your product.

You have to be able
to plan ahead

in terms of what you're
going to market.

It's not simply a matter
of growing it

and getting rid of it.

There has to be a little bit
of a business plan in place.

The farming skills learned
here provide not only the

opportunity for
economic benefits,

but also show how
agriculture can benefit

the entire community.

Instructors here hope
programs like this

can be successful
in other areas...

giving residents new
opportunities to improve

their diets and take a step
toward self-sustainability.

Ideally, we'd see more and
more individuals that have

the desire to start to grow
fruits and vegetables on a

scale that they can market
to local grocers and/or

create their own
farmer's market.

That would certainly be an
indication

of success in Chaparral

to have a vibrant farmer's
market right here in Chaparral.

Sitting around
seven thousand feet,

New Mexico's capital of
Santa Fe is the highest

state capital in the U.S.

And while all states
have a state bird...

or state flower, New Mexico
also has a state "Question".

It's Red or Green?

Relating to your choice of
Chiles to spice up your food

in the Land of Enchantment.

I'm Sharon Vaknin.

Still ahead, we'll go from
Farm to Fork with some tried

and true recipes using
very tasty sweet corn.

I'm Rob Stewart.

And still ahead, Let's go to
Alabama to meet some local

farmers who are meeting
consumer demand for produce

grown close to home.

♪

Hi I'm Paul Robins and
here's something you may not

have known about
agriculture.

If you were putting
together a meal

that was fit for a king....

or if you just wanted to dine
with Julius Caesar

or Cleopatra,
asparagus would

definitely be
on the menu.

These thin green stalks
have been a sought after

vegetable for
thousands of years.

And even better for
you home gardeners...

once you plant
this vegetable...

you can just sit back and wait
for the harvest...

again and again.

That's because the asparagus
plant is a perennial.

Started with seed, farmers
usually harvest their first

crop after three years.

But once planted, the
asparagus plant can produced

those tasty stalks
for years and years.

You'll find depictions
of asparagus

in ancient Egyptian
wall decorations.

The name itself is reported
to have come from

the Greek translation of a
Persian word

meaning shoot or sprout.

As early as 200 BC, Roman
writers had suggestions

on how to effectively
grow the plant.

In fact some Roman emperors
were so enamored

of the vegetable, they kept
special ships to deliver

asparagus to Rome from growing
fields in the north of Italy.

Early colonists brought
asparagus to the New World

where its ability to grow
in less than ideal soil

conditions made it possible
to keep green vegetables

on the table even in less than
perfect weather.

Asparagus plants can be
either male or female.

The male plants grow larger,
female plants grow seeds to

produce new growing stock
for the next season.

And finally....
good news for dieters.

Asparagus has no fat, no
cholesterol and is

low in sodium.
So Enjoy

♪

There are over 200
varieties of sweet corn

but most people only
think about it

as white or yellow corn.

Rick, you grow both.

Yep, we grow one
variety of white,

and one variety of yellow.

So tell me a little
about Davis Ranch.

Davis Ranch started as
Ed Davis Ranch in 1966.

He was the one who mapped it
all out and figured it out

so we could have sweet corn
over a long period of time.

Even though we plant
it in February,

it starts about the end
of June no matter what.

And then it ends
up in November.

The first frost
will kill it off.

Well this corn is so good
right off the cob but I do

have a couple of dishes that
highlight this delicious

sweet corn flavor.

I'm making a mango and sweet
corn salad plus

zucchini and sweet
corn fritters.

What are you making?

I'm going to
boil sweet corn.

I'm going to show you how to
do it where you don't kill it!

Wow, all right nice
and pure, I like it.

OK so let's get started.

First we are going to want
to chop up our butter lettuce.

Why don't you slice
up this mango,

throw it right into
our salad bowl.

OK now I'm going to dice
up this red bell pepper.

We are going to get to
our star ingredient now,

your beautiful sweet corn
that you picked today.

Now all I'm going to do in
order to preserve the flavor

is grill it up a little bit.

And we're going to add a
little bit of olive oil.

Oh look at that, that's
the brown color we want.

And just sprinkle
that cayenne pepper.

All right while
these guys cool,

let's make our dressing.

A little white
balsamic vinegar,

you cut that lemon in half
and squeeze the juice

out of half of it.

I'm going to add Dijon
mustard, coarse salt,

and last but not least we
need to do our olive oil.

You whisk while I pour.

The next thing we need to do
is take the kernels off the cob.

I've got some herbs to chop
so I have basil and mint.

Why don't you go ahead and
toss this salad and I'll

drizzle in some
of that dressing.

Rick you're going to show me
the purest way to prepare corn.

All you want to do is put
enough water

in this pot to
cover those ears.

OK.

Now what?

Turn it up on high,
put the lid on it.

Wait, wait, wait.

You don't want to salt it?

No.

This water is
definitely boiling now.

We want three minutes
and they are coming out.

All you want to do
is get them warm.

OK cover it?

Yes.

All right lets do it.

They should look exactly
like they were when they

went in except they're hot.

I'm going to use your corn
in zucchini and sweet corn

fritters with a little twist
I'll show you what that is

but first we're going to add
3 cup of corn flour

and 4 cup of
all purpose flour

that we're going to
put in this bowl.

Then we're going to add 4
teaspoon of baking powder,

garlic powder and salt.

Mix these up a little bit.

Half a cup of milk and I am
going to scramble one egg.

You can get started
grating the zucchini.

This is my secret weapon, a
cup of pepper jack cheese.

I'm going to slice up some
green onion and if you could

also get started getting
those kernels off that corn.

What is that?

It's a kernel-removing
tool that I brought.

It kind of pulls the kernels
off just about right.

OK?

Yeah that looks good and now
we're going to mix

this all together.

So I think we're
ready to fry these up.

OK.

Since we're frying I'm
going to put an apron on.

Do you want one too?

No I'm fine.

So I would say it's about
2 to 3 minutes each side.

That dark golden brown color
is exactly what you want.

Do you want to
give it a try?

No I don't have
the apron on.

Oh this is going
to look good.

♪

Lets dig in!

OK.

These fritters are
so fresh and crispy.

I like it, its good.

Yeah can you taste the
slight cheesiness in there?

Yes.

I want to try some
of this salad,

see how it turned out.

Mmmm.

Is that the dill in
the salad I'm tasting?

You know what it is?

It's the basil and the mint.

That's what I wanted to do
is highlight

your delicious sweet corn.

So tell me how that is.

Mmmmm.

Best way, isn't it?

And you know the yellow
corn does have a slightly

different taste
than the white corn.

Yes, it does.

It still has the old
time corn taste to it.

Cheers to your
pure sweet corn.

While native tribes in the
Americas have been

eating sweet corn for
thousands of years,

significant commercial
production

really didn't begin
until the 1700's.

And if you're thinking
of planting some,

one acre of good farmland
can produce about

14 thousand pounds
of sweet corn.

"Fresh" is the watchword
when it comes to marketing

local produce and that's
part of the reason why

farmer's markets are
booming across the country.

You know local and state
governments have done their

part to promote
farmer's markets.

And farmers are taking the
lead on getting

crops to consumers.

♪

(Sound of opening
tailgate of pick-up truck)

It's early morning and
while many folks

are still in bed,

Alabama peach farmer Jimmy Witt
has been up for hours...

readying his daily
deliveries for market.

You get up 3:00, 3:30.

It's a 45 minute
drive there.

So, I like to give
myself an hour.

But Jimmy's not the only
Alabama farmer

up before the sun.

Dozens of other local
growers start their day....

headed for one
particular farmers market.

The public wants
local products;

As long as you're
an Alabama farmer

you have somewhere to sell.

If you grow your
product here locally,

you can come here to sell
year round every day.

Aint nothing we
can do about it.

He done got his
mind made up."

The Alabama Farmers Market
began with 18 growers

back in 1921.

Today, a much larger number
of growers sell their produce...

wholesale and
retail...

on a sprawling 49 acre site
in West Birmingham

that's been home
to the market

for more
than a half century.

Owned and operated
by Alabama farmers,

the market generates some
350 million dollars

in annual sales.

Normally on a daily basis we
would have anywhere

from 75 to a hundred
farmers here.

But, on an annual basis
we would have 300 to 500

farmers use this market
to sell their product.

There are a lot of people
that have restaurants that

do show up there to buy
fresh produce

for their restaurants.

Lots of wholesale produce
stands come in there early

in the morning, buy their
produce that they need for

that day or the next day.

One wholesaler buying from
Jimmy this morning is

Dorothy Orrick.

She'll spend five hundred
dollars on his peaches

because of the quality
produce she's purchased from

Jimmy in the past.

It's just really important
because it's fresh.

You know, they
just picked it.

It's real fresh.

And we always want to try
and keep the customers happy.

Birmingham chef Matt Jones
says the market allows him

to find fresh vegetables
and support local growers.

Certain vegetables are
sweeter than others.

Some are more tart.

Depends on the location
where they're at.

Self-sustained farms are
very important with the

flavors and stuff you
get from the vegetables.

Some of the farmers will
actually take orders from

their steady customers.

The customers will
say, "Hold me a box."

They'll actually hold that
customer a box of whatever

they're looking for.

While the experience of
finding locally grown

produce has long been
a tradition here,

that "consumer connection"
has grown dramatically

in all fifty states.

The U.S. Department of
Agriculture listed fewer than

18 hundred farmers markets
nationwide in 1994.

Today, to meet a growing
consumer demand for locally

grown, fresh foods, there
are just under eight thousand.

Most of what they're looking
for is they're looking for

something quality and
they're looking for

something fresh.

State and local governments
have jumped on the bandwagon

to create and support
farmers markets.

The efforts not only bring
in tax dollars but also

provide sales outlets for
newer farmers just starting out.

But the growers here at the
Alabama Farmers Market

are very proud of one
distinction

that helps set them apart.

It's one of the only
farmer-owned farmers markets

left in the United States,
which is very unique.

After Jimmy Witt
drops his delivery,

he's back on his farm where
his family's been picking

peaches, and other
produce, since the 1950's.

Like many growers, he has
a contractor who sells his

produce so he can prepare
for the next day.

Whether it's peaches or okra
or strawberries

or whatever it might be.

And the cycle starts again,
in both Alabama and at

thousands of farmers markets
across the country -

consumers finding
fresh, produce,

and farmers enjoying the
fruits of their labor.

You've got so many options
to be able sell to the public.

The warehouses,
the grocery stores,

just the opportunity
is so wide here,

that you would be able to.

If you grow a
quality product,

you would be able
to sell it here.

♪

And that's going to do
it for is this time.

We thank you for traveling
the country with us on this

edition of America's
Heartland.

We're always so pleased that
you can join us as we travel

the country to find
fascinating people and

interesting places.

And remember that you can
stay in touch with us 24/7.

We make it easy for you.

You can find us on some
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you can also access our
stories and video on our

website: Americas
Heartland dot org.

That will do it
for this time.

We hope to see you on the
next America's Heartland.

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