America's Heartland
is made possible by....

American agriculture
plays an essential role

in providing food,
feed, fuel and fiber

to people around the world.

Monsanto
is committed to helping farmers

increase crop yields
and conserve natural resources.

Monsanto
is proud to support

this program
bringing you the stories

of people
in America's heartland

whose hard work
makes a difference

in all of our lives.

With sustainable production,
agricultural innovation

and research,
these men and women

are working to make life better.

Monsanto
would like to recognize them

for all they do for all of us.

....and by the American
Farm Bureau Federation

- the voice of agriculture.

Hi,
I'm Rob Stewart.

Let's talk onions!

We'll take you
to a very special farm in Idaho

where onions are prime produce.

It's a farm
using a high tech approach

to tracking the food
that makes its way

from the field
to your dinner table.

Hi, I'm Dave Lieberman.

And today I'm at a monastery
in South Carolina

where the monks are providing
local foodies

with a divine specialty.

Wow,
that's a beautiful brown color.

That's what we want.

You say you want to know
where your milk comes from?

Well,
cows of course!

But in some fortunate places
across the heartland

it comes from the milkman.

Yes,
they are still thriving.

Guys like Mike White
are still making

daily deliveries .

That story's coming up
on America's Heartland.

Let's hit the road, Mike.

♪ 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. ♪

There are many examples
of how technology

plays a major role
in producing the foods

that we enjoy every day.

Ensuring the quality of our food
is a major part of that story.

We've found a farm
in western Idaho

where quality control
begins when the produce

comes right out of the fields.

Would you believe
that the next time you buy

a bag of onions
at the grocery store,

you could track the onions
back to the exact field

and farmer that grew them?

Well,
you can

if there's
a Trace Produce dot com label

on them!

Millions of Idaho
and Oregon onions,

fresh from the fields,
are on the move

to grocery stores nationwide!

And every step of the way
their journey will be tracked

thanks to a traceability program
created at Fort Boise Produce

here in Parma, Idaho.

Just find the code
on the Trace Produce label

and the story
of your bag of onions unfolds.

So then with the code
on the back of the package,

we can type that in
at the website.

Anybody who buys these onions
can do this.

And what we'll pull up
is all kinds

of detailed information
about those onions.

So as you can see here,
we'll have a Google map

of the actual field
that those onions came from.

We also have a video
of the grower

and growing operation
where the growers

can talk about their operation
and how they grew the onions.

And then we also have
a shipper video here

which is actually
our packing operation

which shows how these onions
were packaged

and put in their final packaging
for the consumer to see.

In this era
of increased focus

on food safety,
tracing one's food

is becoming
increasingly important

for consumer.

Each lot of onions
is labeled and loaded

in the field into a truck
bound for the packaging plant.

Once inside,
the onions are inspected,

sampled,
and even recorded on video

for potential buyers
to watch

on the traceability website.

After the bio terrorism act
of 2001 which involved

food safety,
everybody has to do

one step forward
and one step backward

on traceability.

So a lot of growers and shippers
have implemented traceability

in their systems.

But they haven't taken it
to the consumer level.

Joe Farmer created
the Trace Produce dot com

program.

Now he's opened it up
for other growers

and packers to use nationwide.

The Farmer family
has deep roots in innovation.

Joe's grandfather Warren
was a row crop farmer.

He (Warren)
invented a self-propelled

beat harvester seen here
from the 1950's.

Today Warren's two sons
are the leaders

of Fort Boise Produce

and say their father
would be proud

that his pioneering spirit
lives on.

Well yeah,
he'd be amazed.

I mean,
he operated

with a ten-key adding machine.

(It) was the closest
he ever got

to automated accounting.

So he'd be blown away
by the technology alone.

And I'm sure
he'd be proud

of what we developed.

More than a million
50-pound bags of onions

will pass through this plant.

Twenty two hundred bags an hour!

And each one
can be traced back to its roots.

There's always
new mandates coming

down the line.

People are waiting
to hear from the FDA

and if a few mandates
are going to come.

It's adding costs
to the growers and shippers.

But there's
no getting around it.

You've got to do it.

It's what's expected now:
just required of growers

and shippers
to be able to have

that traceability.

Heaven forbid
if there was ever any problem.

Onions, of course,
are a very safe product.

But if there
ever were a problem,

it would be very easy
to recall the onions.

It's just adds
to the safety of our product

that way.

So yeah,
it's pretty amazing.

I don't think my great-granddad
out on the sheep ranch

would have thought
that a consumer

back in New York
would be able to see

the farm and grower
that farmed their onions

on a little computer device.

So yeah,
it's pretty amazing.

♪

The monks here of Mepkin Abbey ,
just north of Charleston,

South Carolina
live as Trappist monks.

(They) have lived for centuries
basing their lives

on spiritual reading,
prayer

and hard work,

But the work here
is pretty interesting.

Brother John,
you guys are growing

oyster mushrooms of all things.

How did that happen?

Well,
we wanted to grow

something
that was needed in the area.

And nobody was growing
oyster mushrooms

in any quantity
in South Carolina.

So we started
to try to get into that

to help us out
and to provide some products

that were needed
locally in the area.

But a day in the life of a monk
here at Mepkin Abbey

is pretty different.

The pace is very different.

It's a monastic schedule,
the monastic way of life,

that has been in existence
for about 2000 years

as far as monasticism goes.

It's basically
oriented towards prayer.

The life is oriented
towards prayer.

And how much of your day
do you devote

towards work with the mushrooms.

We'll have about 4 hours
of the morning

and two hours of the afternoon.

Well,
I'd love to see

where these mushrooms are
because I don't see

any mushrooms growing here.

So it must be
somewhere inside there.

Specialized place,
specialized place....

Alright,
let's go see where that is.

By all means.

We've got cottonseed
and straw.

And we're spreading it out here
getting it ready for the spawn

which will be added shortly.

It's been cooked
for a certain period of time

with high temperatures,
and it's cooling down now.

And is that
to sterilize the hay?

To sterilize it,
to pasteurize it!

This is what you need to do
if you want to try

and grow 500 pounds over a week.

Is that what you're producing?

500 pounds!

Brother John,
what's going on here?

They're putting spawn on here.

The most important thing
is spreading this spawn

and working it into the mix.

You put this medium,
this complete mixed medium,

into the bag.

There are about
20 to 25 punctured holes

in that bag
before you're finished.

And out of those holes
the mushrooms will grow.

So brother John,
here is where the mushrooms come

after they've
been bagged to grow.

It takes 14 days
from the time

they're placed in here,

And once they start growing,
within 12 hours,

you'll have another growth.

You can actually
pick this thing clean

and come back 24 hours later,
and they'll be back again.

Actually pick a mushroom
again in 24 hours?

That's amazing!

They grow very rapidly.

And how many cycles
do you get out of each bag?

3 cycles!

Well,
Brother John

delivered me
to the kitchen here

and handed me off
to Father Joe

who does all the cooking
for the monks here.

And it's pretty exciting
to be in the kitchen here

because I we know
what a special place it is.

And thank you for having me.

And we're going
to do a little cooking together.

It's fun to me.

So what are you going to make?

I'm gonna make
a potato,

leek and mushroom dish.

Okay,
and I'm gonna make

a mushroom soup
using both

the dehydrated mushrooms
and the fresh oyster mushrooms.

So what's your first step?

My first step
is to cut a little bit

of mushroom
that I need for the dish

and prepare some leeks.

What I'm gonna do first
is I'm going to re-hydrate

the dried mushrooms.

And what you have to do
with the dehydrated mushrooms

is you have to add them
to hot water or hot stock.

So I'm just going to throw
some chopped celery

and onion to that,
and let it cook.

And it's also gonna add
a lot of flavor

to the stock.

Start on the roasted mushrooms
that are going to be

the garnish
for my mushroom soup!

When you're
roasting the mushrooms,

I find that you need sort of
the bigger ones

that are going to hold up
to the heat.

Right,
because the water

comes out of the mushrooms
and they get pretty small.

The simplest thing
to do with mushrooms

when you're roasting them
is just put

a little salt and oil
on them

and throw them in the oven.

Alright Father Joe,
so you're going to start

sautéing the leeks now?

That's good,
soften up the leeks!

I'm going
to skim this stock

a little bit.

How are you going
to slice up the potatoes?

I'm gonna use
this food processor!

And do we have
to grate some cheese?

I can do that
while you're putting

that together and sautéing.

Super!

It's really a cheesy gratin.

That's what makes
a gratin good.

It's all the cheesy
and cream and stuff, right?

I'm gonna put white wine
in it too

so it's even better.

Oh yeah!

And what are you looking for
when you sauté the mushrooms?

Well,
I want them

to decrease a little bit
and get tender.

Not much,
because I'm going

to put them all in the oven.

And this is
pretty simple to assemble right.

It is.

We're just going to layer it.

So what I'm going to do
is mix them together first

so that I can pour them
between the potato layers.

This is
a really creative way

to use mushrooms.

So the last step to this gratin
is to have a liquid

that it's going to cook in.

And what are you using for this?

For the liquid,
I'm going to use cream,

white wine,
and chicken broth.

Alright,
you throw in your gratin,

and I'll grab the mushrooms
because they smell wonderful.

Wow, look at
that beautiful brown color!

That's just what we want!

And now I can finish up my soup.

But we don't want
the vegetables in there

because we don't want
it to be too chunky.

So I'll strain those out.

So we can whiz them
with a little bit of flour

and a little bit of stock
and a touch of cream.

And I'll add them back
in to thicken it.

And so all I need to do
to finish up my dish

is chop up the mushrooms.

They look really beautiful,
don't they?

They do!

And this is just gonna' be
the garnish for the soup.

So should we eat?

Let's serve it up.

Let's do it!

And these are all recipes
that you can do at home

using the Mepkin Abbey
mushrooms.

Do you want a bite of this?

I want to!

That's really good!

♪

Hi, I'm Amy Henry
with some fast facts

about food from the heartland.

If you're a foodie
or hip to the talk

about nutrition,
you've probably heard

about MUFA's.

No?

Well,
let's give you the lowdown.

MUFA stands for
monounsaturated fatty acids ,

a class of healthy fats
found in nuts and seeds,

avocados,
olives,

and certain vegetable oils.

They are said to help people
lose weight

and have protective properties
in preventing

certain types of disease.

If you're wolfing down
peanut or almond butter,

soy nuts and soy butter,
macadamia nuts,

or avocados,
and certain kinds of oils,

you're already munching
on MUFA's.

But nutritionists say
they are not a fast-pass

to good health
and may even be a poor choice

for people
with some health concerns.

Best advice?

Do your homework
and practice MUFA moderation.

I'm Jason Shoultz.

Still ahead,
the milk man is still around

and thriving
in some parts of the heartland.

We'll take you
on an old fashioned milk route.

I'm Akiba Howard.

Still ahead,
we'll take you

to Oklahoma
where storm shelters

can often make a difference
in saving lives

in rural communities.

♪

Hi, I'm Paul Robins.

And here's something
you may not have known

about agriculture.

If there are young folks
around your house,

I'll bet
peanut butter and jelly

is often on the menu.

How about peanuts
when you go to the ball park?

You may think of peanuts
only as food.

But that's just
part of their story.

When Spanish explorers
arrived in the New World,

they found the locals
dining on peanuts

and peanut concoctions.

In fact,
some say peanut butter

was first created
in South America

three thousand years ago.

Fast forward
to the 19th century,

and peanuts
were an important foodstuff

during the civil war.

But peanuts
really came into their own

thanks to research
by George Washington Carver.

He discovered
about 300 different uses

for the peanut.

Diverse products
such as shaving cream,

soaps,
paints,

medicine,
cosmetics,

wallboard and even explosives!

Peanuts are packed
with vitamins,

minerals and fiber
which in peanut butter form

has long been popular
with youngsters.

Oh, we like our peanut butter.

Americans eat more
than 700 million pounds

of peanut butter every year.

That's a lot of peanuts!

In fact,
it takes about 700 peanuts

to make 1 pound
of that great tasting spread.

It's one of those staples
that always seems

to end up
in the grocery store cart.

Milk, whether it's whole,
2%,

or skim,
the U.S. tops the world

in milk consumption.

While most folks get it here
at the store,

in some parts of the heartland
the milkman is still

bringing milk and more
right to your door.

The sun is barely up
here in Minneapolis,

and Mike White is hard at work.

Place for everything
and everything in its place!

Loading up his milk,
cheese,

and butter,
he and the other

independent milkmen
from around the area

are preparing for another day.

The sun will be setting
by the time Mike is done

with his route.

We do about 70 stops a day.

Mike owns his own truck
and has a contract

with Kemps Dairy
to deliver milk

and other food items.

So when you drive
down the street like this,

are you thinking
potential customer ?

Oh yes!

Swing sets, kids, toys....

Mike
has been driving these streets

for 34 years.

And after that many years....

....She's barking.

make her happy....

....he's learned
the tricks of the trade.

Barking dogs get treats.

And customers
get the extra effort.

When Rollie Troup
at the Bean Good Café

is running out of milk
for her coffee drinks....

We're a little busier
Friday and Saturday

than I thought.

And oh my gosh,
here we are low,

and Mike to the rescue.

Even though it's not
on his morning's route,

Mike makes a special stop
for this business customer.

People often talk
about the good old days

although it's not always
an accurate way

to describe the past.

But if the classic milkman
was ever a symbol for anything,

it's a symbol of a simpler time.

And for Mike's customers?

That simpler,
more trusting time

still exists today.

Close the door when you're done.

Oh, I will

Like at this stop
when the homeowner

is on her way out,
she leaves the door unlocked

for Mike.

So I know what to do.

I just take care of it.

So these are things
that you think they need

because you know them.

So you bring them
in just in case?

Some stuff?

You refill,
and others you don't?

Just give them what they need.

Double Fudge Moose Tracks!

Their son Teddy
loves that stuff.

Not only do you know
your customers

by their first names,
you know your customer's

children by their first names?

Yes!

Usually and hopefully!

And you know
their eating habits too?

That I know the most.

Ha ha!

After he's done stocking up,
it is off to the next stop.

(After) So many families,
you know them.

I mean after 34 years,
you've seen their kids grow up.

And to see them show up
and bringing their grand kids

and their kids.

Mike's been bringing
the staples and then some

to the Northrup family
for 11 years.

People think
of the old milk man

who drives this truck
and delivers milk.

But he brings in
a lot of stuff for you, right?

Yeah, more than just milk.

I mean there is meat,
deli meats, and cheeses!

I mean it's a wide range.

The profit margin
for dairy products

is very thin.

So stay competitive,
home delivery drivers like Mike

have moved beyond milk.

On Mike's truck today,
he has as many

as 400 items for sale!

What about the cost?

Is it more expensive
than the grocery store?

If it is,
it evens out

in terms of driving
and carrying stuff.

That's another element:
to not have to carry in

heavy stuff.

Convenience
and the personal touch

are how home delivery drivers
compete against

corner stores
and big box retail.

To find what dealt
the fatal blow

to most home delivery
in the 70's,

look no further than your than
convenience stores

across the country.

Until the recent
economic downturn,

there was a resurgence
of home milk delivery

in other U.S. cities.

And while
the home delivery market

is no more than 2 percent
of sales for Kemp's

here in Minnesota,
manager Pat Elwell

says he believes
there will always be

a place for guys like Mike.

There are always going to be
people that want freshness

and quality.

And they want
that personal service.

They want to talk
to the owner of the business.

I don't ever see it going away.

So my next stop,
the woman who live here?

Her brother-in-law
is the mayor of Minneapolis,

RT Rybak.

You gotta convince
her brother-in-law....

No, I deliver there tomorrow.

So you deliver to the mayor?

Yes, we are good friends.

He's a great guy.

You don't have
the mayor of a city

of nearly 4-hundred-thousand
as a customer

without knowing your stuff.

I'm the third generation
milk man.

My grandpa and my dad
they started it out.

Ironically,
following in their footsteps

was not part
of his original plan.

But after a stint in a rock band
and working in gas stations

and a restaurant....

And then I decided
I ought to really make a living.

And 34 years later,
he's making a living

in a tough business
with a smile and a wave.

♪

♪

Those black and white Holsteins
are the most common breed

in the United States
followed by Jersey

and Brown Swiss.

And if you lived
in the middle

of the 19th century,
you didn't have to go far

for your milk.

Almost every home
had its own cow.

Oklahoma is one of the states
that experiences

dozens of tornadoes each year.

That's a real concern
when high winds

roar across the open spaces
of farms and ranches here.

And for rural families
it means taking

some unusual steps
to protect people and property.

Each individual tornado
is a violent wind vortex

in the atmosphere.

From the earliest days
of weather reporting,

tornadoes have been
some of nature's

deadliest storms:
twisting winds

causing death and destruction.

We were so afraid
when we woke up at 4:30

in the morning
with the freight train

going over.

Jim and Nikki Hayes
know the fear

that can come
from being in the path

of a tornado.

Both of us looked at each other,
screamed,

and looked at each other,
and said,

"Where do we go?

What do we do?"

The Hayes home,
along with thousands of others,

sits in Tornado Alley ,
prime real estate

for storms in the heartland.

So the couple
installed a storm shelter

to face future tornado threats.

And now we know now.

We know where to go.

We have a plan!

(laughter)

According to FEMA dot gov,
76 percent

of tornado fatalities
occur from people

exiting their homes
to seek shelter.

Vincent Mims
saw an opportunity

to face that threat.

He points to research
that above ground shelters

anchored deep into concrete
could work

with the right construction.

And they went down
the list,

and they hit steel.

And we were like,
"So if we build a room

strong enough out of steel,
it would work."

And they said,
"Absolutely,

so long as it's
anchored properly."

David Jones grandmother
died in a tornado

in the early 80's.

He saw a shelter
as a realistic way

to help protect his family.

I mean,
how do you put a price

on your life?

I mean, the house
and all those types of things?

You can replace.

But to get blown
away in a tornado,

you're not
going to come back from that.

So here's what we did.

Actually, you don't even know
it's here

until you open that door.

And then there's, of course,
the door going into it.

And of course,
this has got all solid steel.

And it also works as a gun safe.

Other valuables
can be put in here.

That price on your life
can run from three

to eight thousand dollars
for above-ground shelters.

So what do you do
between the threat of storms?

Some people
combine safety and storage.

My personal one
is actually my food pantry.

We set it
in the middle of the house.

They framed around it,
framed the inside of it,

put walls up,
put the air vent in,

put shelving in,
and it doubles

as my food pantry.

Storm shelters like these
are a far cry

from the below-ground shelters
of decades past.

Incorporated
into the homes themselves,

they can give rural
and urban residents

a safety option
against the high winds

and devastation
of storms like these.

It's fantastic to know
that we have some place

we can go where we'll be safe.

We're not
out in the weather to get there.

And it's just peace of mind
and convenience,

like that
was really important to us.

That's going to do
it for this time.

Thanks for traveling
the country with us

on this edition
of America's Heartland .

We're always pleased
that you can join us.

And remember
there's much more

on our website
including video

from all our programs.

Just log onto
americasheartland dot org.

And stay in touch with us 24/7
through some of your

other favorites sites as well.

We'll see you next time
right here

on America's Heartland .

To order a copy
of this broadcast,

visit us online
or call 1-888-814-3923

The cost is $14.95
plus shipping.

♪ 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. ♪

America's Heartland
is made possible by...

Who grows our economy?

Who ships
nearly 100 billion dollars

of crops and products
to many nations?

Who provides
more than 24 million jobs

here at home?

Who?

America's farm families
brought to you on behalf

of America's farmers
by Monsanto .

....and by the American Farm
Bureau Federation

- the voice of agriculture.

♪