WEBVTT 00:01.031 --> 00:06.831 America's Heartland is made possible by.... 00:06.831 --> 00:09.831 They make up a small part of our population, 00:09.831 --> 00:12.598 but have a huge impact on our lives. 00:12.598 --> 00:15.898 They take business risks that few others would tolerate 00:15.898 --> 00:17.998 all on our behalf. 00:17.998 --> 00:23.298 They're American farmers who feed, fuel and clothe the world. 00:23.298 --> 00:26.831 Monsanto would like to recognize them for all they do 00:26.831 --> 00:28.598 for the rest of us, 00:28.598 --> 00:32.231 because ultimately our success and everyone else's 00:32.231 --> 00:34.831 depends on theirs. 00:34.831 --> 00:37.931 ....and by the American Farm Bureau Federation 00:37.931 --> 00:41.898 - the voice of agriculture. 00:41.898 --> 00:42.798 Coming up.... 00:42.798 --> 00:45.064 Protecting our ability to produce: 00:45.064 --> 00:49.364 farmers help  farmers in a unique program to bring in the crops. 00:49.364 --> 00:52.231 Then health conscious American's create a big demand 00:52.231 --> 00:56.031 for sunflowers, golden harvest in the heartland. 00:56.031 --> 00:58.898 Sorghum is one of the world's oldest grains. 00:58.898 --> 01:02.698 It's finding new fans on a farm in Ohio. 01:02.698 --> 01:04.431 And breeding better cattle: 01:04.431 --> 01:07.698 A Nebraska farm family seizes the opportunity to help ranchers 01:07.698 --> 01:09.298 improve their stock. 01:09.298 --> 01:14.298   America's Heartland is next. 01:14.298 --> 01:20.631  ♪ You can see it in the eyes of    every woman and man ♪ 01:20.631 --> 01:26.664   ♪ in America's Heartland    living close to the land. ♪ 01:26.664 --> 01:32.731  ♪ There's a love for the country    and a pride in the brand ♪ 01:32.731 --> 01:43.064  ♪ in America's Heartland living    close, close to the land. ♪ 01:43.064 --> 01:51.764   ♪ In America's Heartland. ♪ 01:51.764 --> 01:53.698 Hello and welcome to   America's Heartland . 01:53.698 --> 01:55.264 I'm Paul Ryan. 01:55.264 --> 01:58.331 We like to think of it as a distinctly American value: 01:58.331 --> 02:01.498 the willingness to go all-out to help family, friends, 02:01.498 --> 02:05.198 neighbors, and yes, even  strangers in need. 02:05.198 --> 02:07.698 Out here in the heartland where the crops are grown; 02:07.698 --> 02:10.931 livestock tended, the challenges are plenty. 02:10.931 --> 02:14.131 Folks can find themselves in need of a helping hand. 02:14.131 --> 02:15.831 When things start going wrong on the family farm, 02:15.831 --> 02:18.531 the need may be greater than friend or neighbor 02:18.531 --> 02:19.798 or family member can offer. 02:19.798 --> 02:22.164 In one state a group of farmers, tired of watching 02:22.164 --> 02:25.931 their colleagues fall on hard times, have banded together 02:25.931 --> 02:32.698 to help them save their farms and their livelihood. 02:32.698 --> 02:36.064 Well, I was having chest pains, and I was short of breath. 02:36.064 --> 02:38.398 And I went to my local doctor, and he scheduled me 02:38.398 --> 02:42.331 for a stress test in Camden, North Dakota, my local hospital. 02:42.331 --> 02:44.298 And I flunked it. 02:44.298 --> 02:47.331 And flunking meant that farmer Ron Tschepen was headed 02:47.331 --> 02:51.598 straight to the operating room for quadruple bypass surgery. 02:51.598 --> 02:54.031 That was bad enough, but even worse 02:54.031 --> 02:57.531 it laid him low at a critical time when his wheat crop 02:57.531 --> 02:59.031 was coming in. 02:59.031 --> 03:01.031 Ron needed help. 03:01.031 --> 03:04.764 Hi there, Ron. How are you? 03:04.764 --> 03:06.698 Feeling a lot better. 03:06.698 --> 03:10.431 Help arrived just in time in the form of retired farmer 03:10.431 --> 03:14.764 named Gene Spichke and a handful of other folks. 03:14.764 --> 03:16.164 You came all the way from South Dakota? 03:16.164 --> 03:20.231 Good man! 03:20.231 --> 03:22.564 They spent days in the cabs of combines 03:22.564 --> 03:28.231 harvesting Ron's wheat crop. 03:28.231 --> 03:30.798 Who are these   angels in the heartland ? 03:30.798 --> 03:35.231 They're volunteers, members of  Farm Rescue , an organization 03:35.231 --> 03:42.231 made up of farmers helping farmers. 03:42.231 --> 03:45.764 Farm Rescue was founded in 2006 by Bill Gross, 03:45.764 --> 03:48.664 a North Dakota Farm boy who, once grown up, 03:48.664 --> 03:51.831 took to the sky as a pilot for UPS. 03:51.831 --> 03:54.464 Still, he's kept one foot on the ground. 03:54.464 --> 03:58.198 His roots in agriculture run deep, and he knows how sickness 03:58.198 --> 04:00.998 or accidents or tornados can wipe out 04:00.998 --> 04:03.298 hard-working farm families. 04:03.298 --> 04:06.731 He wanted to help out, and Farm Rescue was born. 04:06.731 --> 04:10.531 A farmer has had to have a major illness, 04:10.531 --> 04:13.231 injury or natural disaster occur to them. 04:13.231 --> 04:17.998 And Farm Rescue is just to help a farmer through a tough time 04:17.998 --> 04:20.531 so they can continue their operation. 04:20.531 --> 04:22.998 The volunteers at Farm Rescue make it very clear 04:22.998 --> 04:26.664 that they are here to lend a hand to farmers in need; 04:26.664 --> 04:28.031 not give them a handout. 04:28.031 --> 04:31.831 So there's a strict application process that requires applicants 04:31.831 --> 04:35.364 to divulge a lot of information, including financial, 04:35.364 --> 04:37.631 before they can be selected. 04:37.631 --> 04:40.364 Farm Rescue wants to make sure that the farmer is not 04:40.364 --> 04:43.264 financially capable of  hiring  people to come in 04:43.264 --> 04:44.631 to do the work. 04:44.631 --> 04:47.764 So far, the organization has helped more than thirty farmers 04:47.764 --> 04:51.098 plant and harvest crops across several Midwestern states 04:51.098 --> 04:53.131 and Montana. 04:53.131 --> 04:55.964 Since the mission is to aid people truly in need 04:55.964 --> 04:58.931 and spread the help around, this is intended 04:58.931 --> 05:01.398 as a one-time fix. 05:01.398 --> 05:04.398 A farmer can only apply once every three years. 05:04.398 --> 05:06.898 So it is meant to be a one-time only to help them through 05:06.898 --> 05:14.498 a tough time so they can continue their operation. 05:14.498 --> 05:17.764 Farm Rescue depends on donations to keep going. 05:17.764 --> 05:20.764 The money buys fuel and parts for all its combines, 05:20.764 --> 05:24.964 harvesters and tractors which have also been donated. 05:24.964 --> 05:28.231 Because of liability, Farm Rescue rarely uses 05:28.231 --> 05:32.231 the farmer's equipment. 05:32.231 --> 05:34.498 It's hard to figure out who benefits more: 05:34.498 --> 05:39.531 the farmers on the receiving end or the Farm Rescue volunteers. 05:39.531 --> 05:43.064 Thank God for all the work they've been doin' for me, 05:43.064 --> 05:45.864 took a load off of me, so I don't have to worry so much, 05:45.864 --> 05:47.364 ya know. 05:47.364 --> 05:48.798 He can relax a little bit. 05:48.798 --> 05:49.898 He's resting. 05:49.898 --> 05:51.298 He's just doing walking like he's supposed to. 05:51.298 --> 05:54.298 Otherwise he'd be up pacing. 05:54.298 --> 05:58.231 Well, back when I farmed and farms were a lot closer 05:58.231 --> 06:00.964 together, there were a lot more farmers than there are now. 06:00.964 --> 06:03.631 If a farmer got sick or whatever happened to him, got hurt, 06:03.631 --> 06:07.531 the neighbors would get together, put the crop in, 06:07.531 --> 06:08.631 or take it off. 06:08.631 --> 06:10.664 Now farms are few and far between. 06:10.664 --> 06:16.664 Those days are gone. 06:16.664 --> 06:20.064 As long as I'm able, I'll keep helping. 06:20.064 --> 06:22.031 This is great. 06:22.031 --> 06:31.498 We can help people that really need it. 06:31.498 --> 06:34.731 Jamestown, North Dakota, home to  Farm Rescue , is also home 06:34.731 --> 06:37.098 to the National Buffalo Museum. 06:37.098 --> 06:40.764 The museum and the city's huge buffalo statue draw nearly 06:40.764 --> 06:43.698 one hundred thousand visitors a year. 06:43.698 --> 06:45.598 It's hard to miss the buffalo. 06:45.598 --> 06:52.364 The cement sculpture is 26 feet tall and 46 feet long! 06:52.364 --> 06:54.231 Long ago, somewhere on the prairie, 06:54.231 --> 06:57.064 some of our forefathers happened upon a weed that produced 06:57.064 --> 07:00.231 a flower of remarkable size and color. 07:00.231 --> 07:02.764 Just the sight of one could brighten the eye, 07:02.764 --> 07:06.764 but farmers soon discovered there was food, oil and  profit 07:06.764 --> 07:09.298 in the humble sunflower. 07:09.298 --> 07:11.564 Today the sunflower business is as sophisticated 07:11.564 --> 07:13.698 as that of any crop in the heartland. 07:13.698 --> 07:15.998 And when planted across hundred-acre spreads, 07:15.998 --> 07:18.131 it may be the best  looking crop! 07:18.131 --> 07:25.198 Here's Pat McConahay. 07:25.198 --> 07:31.331 It's a blanket of yellow and green as far as the eye can see. 07:31.331 --> 07:34.364 This is a typical scene in much of North Dakota during 07:34.364 --> 07:36.464 the month of August. 07:36.464 --> 07:39.031 You have about 20 to 25 days of the flowers blossoming 07:39.031 --> 07:40.398 in the state. 07:40.398 --> 07:44.964 It's just a sight to behold to have 160 acres 07:44.964 --> 07:46.598 of sunflowers blossoming. 07:46.598 --> 07:51.531 And driving by and seeing that.... 07:51.531 --> 07:54.131 Mike Clemens and his family started growing sunflowers 07:54.131 --> 07:55.864 in the mid 70's. 07:55.864 --> 07:59.631 At that time, the oil and the seeds became hot commodities. 07:59.631 --> 08:02.398 And farmers developed a growing interest in it 08:02.398 --> 08:04.731 as a good rotation crop. 08:04.731 --> 08:07.564 The profitability of it was really the start 08:07.564 --> 08:09.798 of the sunflower industry in our state. 08:09.798 --> 08:13.264 Farmers could see where it could really add to their bottom line. 08:13.264 --> 08:15.731 It was a crop that really helped the producers get through 08:15.731 --> 08:17.698 the tough time of the 80's there . 08:17.698 --> 08:20.631 During that decade, North Dakota suffered dry weather 08:20.631 --> 08:23.264 that damaged other crops like wheat. 08:23.264 --> 08:25.831 Farmers discovered that sunflowers could tap into 08:25.831 --> 08:29.631 moisture deep in the ground and grow quite well in the state. 08:29.631 --> 08:33.731 In 2006, North Dakota was number one out of seven 08:33.731 --> 08:36.898 sunflower producing states in the country with nearly 08:36.898 --> 08:39.464 a million acres of blooms. 08:39.464 --> 08:42.098 Mike, I've always thought sunflowers are such 08:42.098 --> 08:43.864 happy plants. 08:43.864 --> 08:45.298 They really are. 08:45.298 --> 08:46.698 If you look at 'em, they're all blossomed out 08:46.698 --> 08:48.064 nice today. 08:48.064 --> 08:48.964 Little faces. 08:48.964 --> 08:50.798 That's what they are. 08:50.798 --> 08:53.431 On the sunflower here right now, the pollination is taking place 08:53.431 --> 08:55.764 right here on this part of the head. 08:55.764 --> 08:58.498 The sunflower has come a long way from it's origin 08:58.498 --> 09:01.598 as a native North America prairie weed. 09:01.598 --> 09:04.131 People around the world have come to rely on products 09:04.131 --> 09:06.198 made from the big blooms. 09:06.198 --> 09:10.031 One trademarked variety called NuSun 09:10.031 --> 09:14.731 is now a leading oil seed crop second only to soybeans. 09:14.731 --> 09:17.198 The market in the United States right now is to have 09:17.198 --> 09:19.864 a NuSun oil for frying application. 09:19.864 --> 09:23.131 Several food companies are using it now. 09:23.131 --> 09:26.498 Sunflowers are generally planted from April through mid July 09:26.498 --> 09:27.998 in North Dakota. 09:27.998 --> 09:31.364 Harvest runs from late September through October. 09:31.364 --> 09:34.664 A check of the flower head which begins to turn downward 09:34.664 --> 09:37.764 let's the farmer know if it's mature enough to cut. 09:37.764 --> 09:40.031 This one here is completing its pollination. 09:40.031 --> 09:42.531 You can see the seeds here. 09:42.531 --> 09:45.064 And you can rub 'em off, and you can see the seeds there. 09:45.064 --> 09:47.631 These seeds will get about three times bigger 09:47.631 --> 09:48.998 than what they are right now. 09:48.998 --> 09:53.364 They will turn from a grayish white color to a black color. 09:53.364 --> 09:56.498 Sunflowers are harvested using a combine that's been adapted 09:56.498 --> 09:58.164 to take the seed. 09:58.164 --> 10:01.664 A threshing unit separates the seeds from the sunflower heads 10:01.664 --> 10:03.031 and straw. 10:03.031 --> 10:05.464 A sizeable portion of the sunflower crop 10:05.464 --> 10:07.964 goes into snacks and bird feed. 10:07.964 --> 10:09.764 And of course, it takes sunflowers 10:09.764 --> 10:11.131 to produce sunflowers. 10:11.131 --> 10:14.731 Sunflower seed companies like this one in Northern California 10:14.731 --> 10:17.764 process sunflowers seeds that are shipped to growers 10:17.764 --> 10:19.264 around the world. 10:19.264 --> 10:22.331 But at this processing plant in West Fargo, North Dakota, 10:22.331 --> 10:24.698 oil is the name of the game. 10:24.698 --> 10:27.398 This is one of three sunflower crushing facilities 10:27.398 --> 10:29.364 in the country. 10:29.364 --> 10:33.198 A full 90 percent of the roughly 3 million acres of sunflowers 10:33.198 --> 10:38.531 grown in the U.S. are processed into oil. 10:38.531 --> 10:40.498 We bring seeds into our plant. 10:40.498 --> 10:42.064 We clean the seeds. 10:42.064 --> 10:44.931 We dry it down, and then we bring it into the process. 10:44.931 --> 10:48.264 And we separate out the meal and the oil from the seed. 10:48.264 --> 10:51.264 The meal is turned into a livestock feed ingredient, 10:51.264 --> 10:54.631 and the oil goes into the refinery for further processing. 10:54.631 --> 10:57.798 These plants produce nearly two hundred million pounds 10:57.798 --> 10:59.464 of oil a year. 10:59.464 --> 11:02.298 We used to export a majority of our sunflower oil 11:02.298 --> 11:03.598 from this facility. 11:03.598 --> 11:07.798 Given the changing landscape for oil now, we use all of our 11:07.798 --> 11:09.098 sunflower oil domestically. 11:09.098 --> 11:11.231 The demand remains robust. 11:11.231 --> 11:14.064 Chefs and nutrionists value sunflower oil for its 11:14.064 --> 11:17.431 light taste, frying performance, and health benefits. 11:17.431 --> 11:20.731 It's relatively low in saturated fats. 11:20.731 --> 11:24.031 As a vibrant plains native adds its signature yellow 11:24.031 --> 11:26.131 to the amber waves of the heartland, 11:26.131 --> 11:29.464 it's become a versatile star of American agriculture 11:29.464 --> 11:38.464 from these norhtern plains to the panhandle of Texas. 11:38.464 --> 11:40.831 The sunflower is native to North America. 11:40.831 --> 11:43.831 It's also a popular crop in many other countries. 11:43.831 --> 11:47.198 Russia and Italy raise expansive areas of sunflowers 11:47.198 --> 11:49.264 for oil and animal feed. 11:49.264 --> 11:52.164 Sunflowers can grow from 8 to 12 feet. 11:52.164 --> 11:54.898 One farmer in the Netherlands raised sunflower plants 11:54.898 --> 12:00.131 that reached almost 26 feet tall! 12:00.131 --> 12:02.431 From time to time we like to change the pace and bring you 12:02.431 --> 12:04.764 some of the people, places, and yes, 12:04.764 --> 12:07.798   critters around the heartland that seem worthy of note. 12:07.798 --> 12:10.831 So let's make a quick stop in Linden, Indiana 12:10.831 --> 12:13.031 at a spot that's pretty special 12:13.031 --> 12:15.864 to fans of old-time train travel. 12:15.864 --> 13:33.064 ♪ 13:33.064 --> 13:35.198 Still to come on   America's Heartland .... 13:35.198 --> 13:38.498 It's a grain that's less well known than corn or soybeans, 13:38.498 --> 13:42.898 but one Ohio family farm finds a future in sorghum. 13:42.898 --> 13:46.164 And a Nebraska farm family diversifies their operation 13:46.164 --> 13:51.264 to help ranchers breed better stock. 13:51.264 --> 13:53.598 There's a crop that's a veteran of heartland farms. 13:53.598 --> 13:55.464 A lot of urban folks may have heard of it, 13:55.464 --> 13:57.698 but couldn't quite tell you what it is. 13:57.698 --> 14:00.864   Sorghum may not enjoy as much widespread use as it once did, 14:00.864 --> 14:03.298 but it's still a versatile plant. 14:03.298 --> 14:05.698 And it's still common enough in popular heartland products 14:05.698 --> 14:06.998 and recipes. 14:06.998 --> 14:10.031 On a recent trip through Ohio, Pat found just the man 14:10.031 --> 14:16.464 to introduce us to this lesser-known American staple. 14:16.464 --> 14:18.064 From what I can remember, when I was little, 14:18.064 --> 14:20.498 was how good it made me feel to help my dad. 14:20.498 --> 14:23.831 'Course, that involved work, and I didn't mind workin'. 14:23.831 --> 14:26.431 Childhood memories of working the family farm 14:26.431 --> 14:28.931 was just one thing that brought John Simon 14:28.931 --> 14:32.098 back to his boyhood home in Portsmouth Ohio. 14:32.098 --> 14:34.731 His parents wanted him to leave, get an education, 14:34.731 --> 14:36.364 and have a career. 14:36.364 --> 14:39.331 He did all of that becoming a college professor. 14:39.331 --> 14:42.598 But there was so much he missed about that peaceful plot of land 14:42.598 --> 14:44.431 on Pond Creek. 14:44.431 --> 14:49.898 I just, you know, the beauty of a calf, 14:49.898 --> 14:54.498 to get to sit and pet a cat, to look across the road 14:54.498 --> 14:58.564 and see the hill; hear the stream. 14:58.564 --> 15:01.031 John's 500-acre farm has been handed down 15:01.031 --> 15:04.498 through five generations beginning in the 1860's 15:04.498 --> 15:08.364 when his great-great grandfather came here from France. 15:08.364 --> 15:11.131 When they got here they owned all this timber, 15:11.131 --> 15:13.964 white oak and that sort of thing, on this farm. 15:13.964 --> 15:16.631 So they were able to build and they built a beautiful 15:16.631 --> 15:18.798 rock dam down here. 15:18.798 --> 15:23.464 They built this home in the 1860's with wood provided here 15:23.464 --> 15:24.798 on the farm. 15:24.798 --> 15:28.098 They paid a 100 dollars to a man and his son to build that house. 15:28.098 --> 15:30.698 Glad to still be able to live in it. 15:30.698 --> 15:33.698 John is also glad he can keep his family's farming history 15:33.698 --> 15:38.264 as well as that of the area's Appalachian culture alive. 15:38.264 --> 15:41.331 One of those things is the growing of sweet sorghum. 15:41.331 --> 15:43.298 It is best known as a grain crop. 15:43.298 --> 15:46.864 Today it's an unusual ingredient for most American cooks, 15:46.864 --> 15:50.931 but in the 1880's, sorghum cane, which looks a lot like corn, 15:50.931 --> 15:54.264 was made into a common inexpensive sweetener. 15:54.264 --> 15:55.564 So how tall does it get? 15:55.564 --> 16:02.064 Ordinarily you might see a stock get 8 or 9 or 10 feet tall. 16:02.064 --> 16:05.631 One way you know it's ready to be harvested is by the taste. 16:05.631 --> 16:07.798 I look at the taste more than anything. 16:07.798 --> 16:14.031 You cut a piece off the top, and I take that piece 16:14.031 --> 16:16.731 - and that piece has juice in it - 16:16.731 --> 16:20.964 and I just bend that over my knee and hold it up 16:20.964 --> 16:27.564 over my mouth and twist it. 16:27.564 --> 16:31.298 And I can tell when that juice is ready to make sorghum. 16:31.298 --> 16:33.864 We visited John's farm in late July. 16:33.864 --> 16:37.131 The crop is harvested at the beginning of September. 16:37.131 --> 16:39.431 So it's real low-tech as far as the harvest? 16:39.431 --> 16:41.898 It's low tech. 16:41.898 --> 16:43.231 And it's also hand work. 16:43.231 --> 16:45.798 We are still one of the farmers in America that raises 16:45.798 --> 16:49.931 sorghum that does it slow and traditional. 16:49.931 --> 16:52.931 We strip the cane and top the cane, and we do it by hand. 16:52.931 --> 16:54.598 We don't cut it with machines. 16:54.598 --> 16:57.064 John's  traditional approach to raising sorghum 16:57.064 --> 16:59.931 is one of the attractions for visitors who make their way 16:59.931 --> 17:02.098 to his farm each October. 17:02.098 --> 17:06.431 That's when John holds his annual  sorghum makin' festival. 17:06.431 --> 17:09.898 And people come here and have a good old homespun time. 17:09.898 --> 17:13.298 And they learn just how he does it. 17:13.298 --> 17:16.664 Since 1982 visitors have been able to see how sweet sorghum 17:16.664 --> 17:17.998 is made. 17:17.998 --> 17:19.831 The cane is taken to a little mill on the farm 17:19.831 --> 17:22.631 and hand fed a few at a time. 17:22.631 --> 17:25.664 The rollers in the mill crush the stalks which squeezes 17:25.664 --> 17:27.464 the juice out of the cane. 17:27.464 --> 17:32.164 The juice is collected into a container and eventually cooked. 17:32.164 --> 17:36.698 Mmm, sorghum popcorn balls! 17:36.698 --> 17:39.698 John likes to show his visitors how versatile sorghum can be 17:39.698 --> 17:42.664 as an ingredient in down-home recipes 17:42.664 --> 17:47.198 from baked beans to baked treats like cookies. 17:47.198 --> 18:00.564   ♪ Sorghum and molasses    are all they had to eat....♪ 18:00.564 --> 18:02.098 Farming and sorghum aren't John's only passions. 18:02.098 --> 18:05.431 There's also music, a gift handed down from his mother. 18:05.431 --> 18:07.631 He especially enjoys playing the regional tunes 18:07.631 --> 18:11.098 passed from generation to generation. 18:11.098 --> 18:13.531 It's great satisfaction to entertain yourselves 18:13.531 --> 18:15.398 and to entertain other people.... 18:15.398 --> 18:18.198 ....and to teach others what he so loves. 18:18.198 --> 18:23.164 (  fiddle hoe down music ) 18:23.164 --> 18:25.364 John's enthusiasm for Appalachian tradition 18:25.364 --> 18:29.364 has a profound impact on many people including his students, 18:29.364 --> 18:32.498 a couple of whom also play music with him. 18:32.498 --> 18:36.798 John is probably one of the biggest influences of my life. 18:36.798 --> 18:42.864 He probably doesn't know that. 18:42.864 --> 18:45.898 I don't know why I'm going cry. 18:45.898 --> 18:51.231 He's made me more aware of music, different types of music; 18:51.231 --> 18:56.131 how they've all melted together more or less over the years: 18:56.131 --> 18:59.598 rock and roll, and country. 18:59.598 --> 19:03.231 And melding the past with the present is something John Simon 19:03.231 --> 19:06.498 hopes to continue as a way to honor those who've farmed 19:06.498 --> 19:15.664 the land before him. 19:15.664 --> 19:19.198 Sorghum is thought to have been first raised in Africa. 19:19.198 --> 19:22.298 It's a popular plant there as well as in China and India 19:22.298 --> 19:25.831 because of varieties that are extremely drought resistant. 19:25.831 --> 19:28.431 Sorghum is an important grain for farmers 19:28.431 --> 19:30.198 west of the Mississippi. 19:30.198 --> 19:33.731 Kansas, Texas and Nebraska are America's top three 19:33.731 --> 19:37.698 sorghum states. 19:37.698 --> 19:40.031 Any rancher will tell you that when it comes to producing 19:40.031 --> 19:42.531 young animals from the members of their herd, 19:42.531 --> 19:45.598 things don't work quite the same as they do in the human world. 19:45.598 --> 19:49.164 Suffice it to say, that when you gaze out across a range 19:49.164 --> 19:52.498 covered with fine, fat calves, it may be that quite a few 19:52.498 --> 19:54.331 of them share the same father. 19:54.331 --> 19:56.498 Refining good genetics is a long-standing practice 19:56.498 --> 19:58.698 among ranchers as well as horse breeders. 19:58.698 --> 20:01.831 And that has created the highly specialized business. 20:01.831 --> 20:07.231 Here's Jason Shoultz in Ashland, Nebraska. 20:07.231 --> 20:10.131 On a quiet farm in rural Nebraska, one family 20:10.131 --> 20:13.864 is capitalizing on the need  for seed . 20:13.864 --> 20:17.664 By all appearances, it's your typical heartland farm. 20:17.664 --> 20:20.698 Cattle, horses, row crops, the Vogler's have 20:20.698 --> 20:22.398 all the ingredients. 20:22.398 --> 20:24.864 But this family has something else. 20:24.864 --> 20:28.164 Welcome to the Vogler Semen Centre. 20:28.164 --> 20:31.031 It may draw strange looks or laughs, but when it comes to 20:31.031 --> 20:33.464 semen, the Vogler's mean business. 20:33.464 --> 20:37.164 And business is good. 20:37.164 --> 20:39.398 In the beef business genetics is critical. 20:39.398 --> 20:42.731 To get top-quality meat, ranchers need good cattle. 20:42.731 --> 20:44.831 To do that, they turn to breeding through 20:44.831 --> 20:46.931 artificial insemination. 20:46.931 --> 20:51.398 Ranchers will pay top dollar for what the Vogler's collect here. 20:51.398 --> 20:54.664 There's no better way to increase the value 20:54.664 --> 20:59.264 of one's pure bred herd than through artificial insemination. 20:59.264 --> 21:01.598 Not everyone can go out and buy 21:01.598 --> 21:05.298 $100,000 or $200,000 bull, but about anybody can afford 21:05.298 --> 21:10.898 from $15 to $50 or $100 straw of semen in order to get this done. 21:10.898 --> 21:13.564 As we move along here, you know, say with certain bulls, 21:13.564 --> 21:17.531 you produce the best genetics, you want the most tender beef, 21:17.531 --> 21:19.598 the most flavorful beef. 21:19.598 --> 21:21.564 And so with the new genetics that are coming, 21:21.564 --> 21:25.198 you can take one bull and breed him to thousands of cows. 21:25.198 --> 21:27.698 Lloyd and Rosalyn Vogler started the Vogler Semen Centre 21:27.698 --> 21:29.698 back in 1983. 21:29.698 --> 21:32.264 As they watched banks foreclose on their neighbor's property 21:32.264 --> 21:34.631 during the farm crisis of the 1980's, 21:34.631 --> 21:37.031 the couple knew (that) to survive, they had to find 21:37.031 --> 21:38.798 something else to do. 21:38.798 --> 21:40.531 Since then, the business has grown. 21:40.531 --> 21:43.431 It's now a full-time family-run operation 21:43.431 --> 21:46.231 with the Vogler's sons Leslie and Loren playing 21:46.231 --> 21:47.664 a critical part. 21:47.664 --> 21:50.931 Around 2001 the operation expanded to include collection 21:50.931 --> 21:52.331 from horses. 21:52.331 --> 21:55.731 Genetics in the equine industry are also very important. 21:55.731 --> 21:58.231 Today Leslie and Loren are collecting a sample 21:58.231 --> 22:01.331 from the horse  Hollidoc. 22:01.331 --> 22:04.064 This a stud called Hollidoc. 22:04.064 --> 22:06.264 He's a 24 year old stud. 22:06.264 --> 22:10.398 He came here, and so we're gonna, 22:10.398 --> 22:14.498 we're in the process of building a bank of frozen semen on him. 22:14.498 --> 22:17.264 And so we'll take him down today and collect him. 22:17.264 --> 22:19.964 He's kind of an old pro at this. 22:19.964 --> 22:23.031 He's been known in the cutting end industry, 22:23.031 --> 22:25.598 the reigning, working cow-horse deal. 22:25.598 --> 22:27.331 He's a horse that's been pretty versatile. 22:27.331 --> 22:29.464 His colts have been able to go on and do quite a few 22:29.464 --> 22:30.731 different things. 22:30.731 --> 22:33.998 How many times has Hollidoc walked down this hallway here? 22:33.998 --> 22:40.231 Oh, there's been numerous times he's been a real champ for us. 22:40.231 --> 22:43.098 As you can tell, we're getting real close. 22:43.098 --> 22:46.798 So he'll be starting to get himself ready. 22:46.798 --> 22:48.864 So the hard part's done? 22:48.864 --> 22:50.298 Yep, the physical part is over with. 22:50.298 --> 22:52.064 Now you've got to take this off to be analyzed? 22:52.064 --> 22:54.031 Yeah, we'll take it up to the lab, and we'll check 22:54.031 --> 22:58.098 the morphology, the count, and the motility on it, 22:58.098 --> 23:05.064 and see how many straws we can freeze on it. 23:05.064 --> 23:06.564 So what are we doing now? 23:06.564 --> 23:08.098 Now we'll take a sample of the semen. 23:08.098 --> 23:12.531 We'll check for the motilty and morphology of it. 23:12.531 --> 23:14.498 Motility and morph....now tell me what that means. 23:14.498 --> 23:16.964 Motility is actually how the sperm cells 23:16.964 --> 23:21.198 are progressively moving, to make sure they're motil.... 23:21.198 --> 23:22.131 ...okay 23:22.131 --> 23:23.631 ...and alive. 23:23.631 --> 23:26.598 And morphology is the abnormality of the cells, 23:26.598 --> 23:30.398 to make sure there aren't too many deformed sperm cells 23:30.398 --> 23:32.164 as far as their head or tails. 23:32.164 --> 23:34.031 You can go ahead and freeze a high quality sample 23:34.031 --> 23:36.698 if you have good motility and morphology. 23:36.698 --> 23:38.931 So now we're going to check for those 2 things. 23:38.931 --> 23:40.864 And you have to use the microscope to do that. 23:40.864 --> 23:44.898 What we use for motility and sperm count for the stallions 23:44.898 --> 23:47.964 is a Hamilton Thorn sperm analyzer. 23:47.964 --> 23:49.931 Well, look at that. 23:49.931 --> 23:51.198 How's that look? 23:51.198 --> 23:53.131 As you can see, his motility is excellent, and the morphology 23:53.131 --> 23:55.364 is also excellent on Hollidoc. 23:55.364 --> 23:59.464 Now this will go....somebody will get this and ideally be 23:59.464 --> 24:01.131 breeding some more horses. 24:01.131 --> 24:03.564 Yeah, after this initial evaluation, we'll go ahead 24:03.564 --> 24:05.098 and freeze it. 24:05.098 --> 24:08.798 And then the semen will be made available to ship worldwide. 24:08.798 --> 24:10.431 Loren knows his way around the lab, 24:10.431 --> 24:13.898 but this is really his mom Rosalyn's territory. 24:13.898 --> 24:16.831 The Vogler family credits her with keeping this operation 24:16.831 --> 24:19.664 running smoothly. 24:19.664 --> 24:22.198 She's really the backbone of this operation. 24:22.198 --> 24:25.598 She holds everybody together, you know, in a quiet way. 24:25.598 --> 24:26.931 We all work together. 24:26.931 --> 24:29.798 Everybody has their own little niche that they do. 24:29.798 --> 24:31.731 But we were fortunate that they were both able 24:31.731 --> 24:34.098 to stay and help us out in the business. 24:34.098 --> 24:36.664 When it's all over with, I just say do whatever 24:36.664 --> 24:38.031 you think's right. 24:38.031 --> 24:40.031 It's a family working together successfully 24:40.031 --> 24:42.664 laying a foundation for future generations. 24:42.664 --> 24:45.698 Like many family farms, the Vogler's are playing their part 24:45.698 --> 24:50.131 in our nation's agriculture. 24:50.131 --> 24:52.131 Even the age-old world of agriculture offers up 24:52.131 --> 24:53.964 some surprises sometimes! 24:53.964 --> 24:55.464 And that's our show for today. 24:55.464 --> 24:56.631 Thanks for watching. 24:56.631 --> 24:58.731 I'm Paul Ryan, and I'll see you next time 24:58.731 --> 25:07.231 right here on  America's Heartland . 25:07.231 --> 25:09.531 There's much more on   America's Heartland 25:09.531 --> 25:11.931 at our web site including video on the stories 25:11.931 --> 25:13.431 from today's show. 25:13.431 --> 25:15.231 You can also give us your feedback. 25:15.231 --> 25:18.031 Just log on to americasheartland-dot-org. 25:18.031 --> 25:20.198 And to order a copy of this broadcast, 25:20.198 --> 25:26.464 visit us online or call 1-888-814-3923. 25:26.464 --> 25:30.898 The cost is $14.95 plus shipping. 25:30.898 --> 25:37.231  ♪ You can see it in the eyes of    every woman and man ♪ 25:37.231 --> 25:43.098   ♪ in America's Heartland    living close to the land. ♪ 25:43.098 --> 25:49.198  ♪ There's a love for the country    and a pride in the brand ♪ 25:49.198 --> 25:58.898  ♪ in America's Heartland living    close, close to the land. ♪ 25:58.898 --> 26:04.898   America's Heartland  is made possible by.... 26:04.898 --> 26:07.664 They make up a small part of our population, 26:07.664 --> 26:10.798 but have a huge impact on our lives. 26:10.798 --> 26:13.931 They take business risks that few others would tolerate 26:13.931 --> 26:16.064 all on our behalf. 26:16.064 --> 26:21.364 They're American farmers who feed, fuel and clothe the world. 26:21.364 --> 26:24.731 Monsanto would like to recognize them for all they do 26:24.731 --> 26:26.664 for the rest of us, 26:26.664 --> 26:30.098 because ultimately our success and everyone else's 26:30.098 --> 26:32.131 depends on theirs. 26:32.131 --> 26:35.898 ....and by the American Farm Bureau Federation 26:35.898 --> 26:39.264 - the voice of agriculture. 26:39.264 --> 26:42.198 ♪