"America's Heartland
is made possible by..."
The United Soybean Board
whose Common Ground program
creates conversations to
help consumers get the facts
about farming and food.
There's more at:
findourcommonground.com
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 -
I'm Rob Stewart.
We're taking you to Maryland
this time to discover how
innovative oyster farmers
are bringing in bounty from
the bay ... Chesapeake Bay.
It's an aquaculture
operation that is working to
improve an
important water way.
Hi, I'm Sarah Gardner.
Having a successful Ag
operation these days means
having a focus on
consumer demand.
For one dairyman in Ohio
that means running a
different kind of operation.
Hi, I'm Sharon Vaknin.
Whether it's for a
barbecue, Sunday dinner,
or a special
holiday occasion,
American's love their beef.
We'll show you how to make
your next beef dinner
even better.
I'm Kristen Simoes.
Pack up your paints.
We're taking you to northern
California where artists
have the opportunity to work
with farmers in capturing
the beauty of rural America.
Call it "arts and
agriculture."
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 ♪
♪
We show you how farmers and
ranchers do their part to
help protect the
environment.
And that includes both
agriculture and aquaculture.
Case in point - a Maryland
oyster farm where the tasty
shellfish is both a cash
crop and a way to clean up
the Chesapeake bay.
♪
Oh I love it.
I couldn't see
myself in an office.
Kevin McClarren is a
relative newcomer to
Chesapeake Bay, he
moved here in 1999.
But this former
Massachusetts resident says
he's fallen in love
with this huge,
historic estuary
and the famous oysters
grown and harvested here.
We're about a hundred
miles from the ocean here.
We're in a brackish
environment where,
from a biological
standpoint,
that's where oysters
want to live.
You get this broth of
minerals and flavors that
produce an oyster with
I think an exceptional flavor.
Welcome to the farm,
an oyster farm.
Here, where the freshwater
Choptank River flows into
the salty bay is where
you'll find
Choptank Oyster Company.
Kevin and his partners
hand-raise close to two
million oysters each year.
I always say we're a little
bit more like ranching than
we are like farming.
We're not really
growing these oysters;
we're just kind of taking
care of them till they're
ready for market.
That care begins here at the
hatchery where the oysters
grow from microscopic larvae
into these tiny creatures
called "spat."
"They're probably a thousand
in this handful..."
That's right - what looks
like a handful of wet sand
is actually thousands of
oysters attached to bits of
broken shell.
After about three weeks,
they're transferred onto
these boxes made
from window screens.
They'll grow to about the
size of a quarter and then
moved to these floats right
on the bay as many as
ten-thousand in each one.
We grow them for half a
summer then we pull them
out, we split
them, tumble them,
then put them back into
bags at a lower level.
And that process continues
over two years until they're
large enough to harvest.
The harvested oysters are
then taken to a facility
close by where they're washed
and packed into boxes destined
for stores and
restaurants all over Maryland.
Some customers like Travis
Todd can't wait for
delivery they take
them right off the dock.
Travis is the third
generation of the Todd
family at the Ocean
Odyssey restaurant
What I really, really like
about it is the fact that
this is our local
and native oyster,
yet it's being grown, um
it's being grown rather than
harvested in the wild.
What we have is rendered
bacon and keep the fat.
Ah, You're going
to add to that fat,
you're 'gonna add
onion and garlic.
Today, Travis is making
Oysters "Bubbafeller" a
variation on the famous
Oysters Rockefeller.
Cracked pepper,
lemon juice, heavy cream,
arugula and parmesan cheese.
"As soon as you
bread these things,
you want to get
them in the fryer."
For something different, how
about a po-boy
shucked and breaded and fried
made from oysters less than
an hour from the water.
"Ocean Odyssey is one of the
local restaurants we have
and he uses our
oysters in everything.
Because he sees
the quality in it,
and for him it's worth it."
Chesapeake Bay is one of the
world's largest estuaries.
It's two hundred miles long
and as much as thirty miles
wide fed by a hundred
fifty rivers and streams.
That mix of fresh and salt
water proved perfect for
oysters and
oystermen who've been
reaping Chesapeake's
waterborne bounty
for centuries.
But in the last fifty years,
population growth brought
water pollution and disease.
Today, the wild oyster
population is less than
one-percent of what it
was in the late 1800's.
Twenty years ago, some six
thousand oystermen worked
these waters.
Today there are fewer
than five hundred.
Oysters are considered
a keystone species,
which means you
know, it does,
it really is the linchpin
for the health of the bay.
Kevin says oysters
are more than just a
product they're an
essential part of
a healthy ecosystem.
The guys who do this testing
will tell you that
an adult oyster
will filter fifty gallons a day,
out of the bay.
You know filter it, taking the
algae out.
Thanks to efforts by dozens
of environmental groups,
scientists, and
government agencies,
Chesapeake Bay is
slowly getting cleaner.
"If we can get the oysters
back to historic levels you
would see the, the green
color drop out of this water
in no time at all."
"Every oyster that's coming
off my farm is one more,
wild oyster that's
left in place.
It may take a long
time, but it may work."
"The fact that we can grow
great products like this,
uh, make them marketable,
sell them and improve,
the water systems as we go
along, that to me us just
a win for everybody."
Oysters, clams and mussels
make up a significant share
of America's
aquaculture production.
But shellfish aren't the
only choice on the
seafood platter.
Catfish, shrimp and salmon
are also popular products
for fish farmers
across the country.
Dairy farmers will milk more
than eight million cows in
the U.S. this year.
Most dairy farms are still
family run operations like
this one in Albany, Ohio.
But, what sets
this one apart,
is the relationship
between the farmer and a
self-proclaimed
dairy evangelist.
♪
I think that the experience
of enjoying dairy products
is hard wired
in human beings.
I still feel good when I'm
drinking a glass of good,
fresh milk.
Warren Taylor is
passionate about milk.
The central Ohio producer
believes that consumers
should be able to enjoy milk
that he says is richer,
creamier and tastes much
closer to what
nature intended.
It tastes like you
added vanilla to this.
Yes.
And that you've
sweetened it.
Absolutely.
And that's cold
concentrated.
And there's nothing added.
Nothing added.
Wanting to reach consumers
looking for something
"different" in dairy, Warren
established
Ohio's Snowville Creamery.
His processing technique
creates milk that tastes
slightly different from what
others may be pouring from
the bottle.
Warren says it's a taste
that goes back generations.
The flavor of fresh
milk is unique.
And, ah unfortunately, a lot
of people haven't
tasted it anymore.
They don't even
know what it is.
His recipe doesn's start by
using a different type of cow.
Instead, Warren puts them on
a different type of diet.
It begins with the
cows that are on grass.
They live their
whole life outdoors.
The only time they're under
roof is when they're
being milked.
They produce less milk, but
the milk is very rich
and delicious.
To assist him in the
developing his dairy products,
Warren turned to
friend and farmer Bill Dix.
Dix has been raising "grass
fed" dairy cows for 20 years.
Adjusting the
grass fed options daily by
rotating the animals
over several pastures.
In every milking they go on a
new piece of pasture that
hopefully, ideally is
just perfect grazing.
And you want a farm
staggered in growth so that
every day when those cows
leave the milking parlor
there's a pasture that has
the perfect feed for a
lactating cow.
Warren pays a premium for
the milk he receives from
area farmers to offset the
fact that grass fed cows
produce less milk than
those raised on grain.
He says supporting those
farmers is important for his
product and his
rural community.
We share that value with
the farmers so we've made a
difference in our dairy
farmers' business lives,
in those families.
And in addition, we have
thirty full time employees
here in the second poorest,
second most under employed
county in the state of Ohio.
Warren's milk is pasteurized
to meet food safety guidelines,
but at a lower
legally-allowed temperature.
As for homogenization.....
A lot of people confuse
pasteurization and
homogenization.
Homogenization is the
process by which the fat is
broken down to be so small
that it remains evenly
distributed in the milk,
even though it
weighs a lot less.
So with our milk the
cream rises to the top.
Another aspect of Warren's
dairy operation is shipping
the creamery's milk only a
limited distance
cutting down the time from
"Cow to Customer."
We go to great effort to get
our milk into grocery stores
just as quickly as we can.
If our milk hasn't sold
within ten days of it being
produced and bottled,
it's taken off the shelf.
Snowville Creamery bottles
about nine thousand gallons
of milk a week.
Snowville Creamery is one of
a growing number of farms
across the heartland that
targets a specific segment
of the retail market,
giving consumers some
additional food choices
and providing options for
farmers as well.
The major satisfaction is
we're putting out superior
food and people seem
to be appreciating it.
And that's where the
real satisfaction comes.
So, it's the reaction of
people to the experience, to
the taste that I think gives
me the greatest pleasure.
It still raises
the hair on my arm.
The next time you enjoy
an ice cream cone,
think about this: it takes
12 pounds of milk to make
one gallon of ice cream.
And if you're
buttering that bagel,
it takes 21 pounds of milk
to make one pound of butter.
I'm Kristen Simoes.
Still ahead: We'll take you
to northern California for a
program that pairs farmers
and artists in capturing the
iconic images of
agriculture in America.
♪
Do you like a nice tall
glass of orange juice in the
mornig with your breakfast?
Well you're not alone, folks
continue to drink more and
more of the organge stuff
and when you get to the
orange juice aisle at
your grocery story,
you're going to find a lot
more choices
than ever before.
No pulp fiction here no
matter how much pulp your
palette desires
you'll find it.
No pulp.
Some pulp.
Extra pulp!
Most juice comes from orange
juice concentrate which
means the juice from
oranges is heated,
water is evaporated out
and the sugars and solids are
frozen.
It then gets mixed with a
little fresh juice and water
and shipped.
Not from concentrate juice
is flash-pasturized
after it's squeezed.
Don't forget frozen cans
of juice in your groceries
freezer section.
Nutritionally the juices
have similar vitamins
and minerals.
Of course orange juice is
packed with vitamin C.
You'll also find juices
fortified with calcium and
vitamin D, and
orange juice with
reduced sugar and calories.
Ever wondered how many
oranges it takes to make a
typical carton
of orange juice?
10, 20, 30?
Actually the
magic number 18!
Think about that the next
time you take one of
these off the shelf!
♪
Beef is one of the most
popular meats in America and
it can be used for a lot
more than just hamburgers.
Today I'm joined by Carina
of Winterport Farms.
So tell me a little
bit about your farm.
Ah, well it's a family farm.
I'm the 5th generation to
live on the farm and we have
ah 180 acres.
We have 50 cows on the farm.
Grass fed, what
exactly does that mean?
It means grass from the day
they're off
their mother's milk.
You have to be sure there
is enough pasture
for every animal.
Today we are lucky enough to
be cooking with your beef so
tell me what
you'll be making.
I'm gonna make
crosscut beef shanks,
which are one of
my favorite cuts.
They are really economic
and affordable
they're simple to cook and
they're really versatile.
And so is ground beef so
today I'm making an Asian
style meatball with a
sweet pineapple sauce.
But first let's do yours.
Great.
You can do this dish on
a pot or in a crock-pot.
So a pan on the stove,
that's now I'm going to set
it up today.
Put the shanks into the pan
and then if you want to put some
onions or garlic on top.
And then I'm just gonna
pour water in the pot get it
about half way covered.
So you put that on low for
about 5 hours or in the
crock-pot on high
for about 5 hours.
I have one here that I
actually cooked in a crock-pot.
And then what
you're going to do is shred
them with two forks.
So then what we're going to
do is actually fry that up
carnitas style.
So we're gonna go ahead
and put this beef
in the oil here and let is
sizzle around.
It gets kind of crispy, kind
of caramelized a little bit.
You want to sprinkle
in a little cumin,
a little oregano, give
it a little taco flavor.
And we've got cilantro,
homemade salsa
and a litle bit of sour cream.
So for my dish, we're making
Asian style meatballs with
pineapple sauce.
Now I love ground beef,
mostly because its just so
versitle you can use it in
so many different ways.
So for this dish, its
actually quite simple,
we're using a few popular
Asian ingredients,
2 tablespoons of
soy sauce in there,
a little bit of sesame oil,
why don't you peel just a
little bit of that ginger
and I will mince up a little
bit of parsley...
and ketchup.
Now what I like to do
sometimes is instead of
using ketchup, I'll do a
little bit of Sriracha,
which is an Asian hot sauce,
but you could use any hot
sauce in this.
Mince up some green onion
and maybe you can ah just
crack an egg into that bowl.
And the egg acts to bind
it all together right?
Yep,and the egg will bind
it all together.
These are Asian style
breadcrumbs and they're a
lot airy than your reglar
homestyle bread crumbs so
I'm putting about quarter
to a half a cup in here.
And mix that up for me.
You bet.
What goes into
the ground beef?
Um actually it's, it's
trimmings from all different
cuts of the beef.
So generally not so much
the filet but just about
everything else.
And you know the secret
to very light and airy
meatballs is not
to over mix it.
Oh, oK.
We're using a
mini muffin tin.
Why don't we form these into
small 2-inch meatballs?
Perfect.
All right.
So now this can
go in the oven.
All right while
those are baking,
let's make our sauce.
This is really easy.
We're using pineapple chunks
in the recipe so we're using
the juice from this can,
we'll strain it out.
That's going to reduce
down into a nice syrup.
So, I'm going to add crushed
garlic and of course because
it's our Asian styled
meatballs, some soy sauce.
We're going to do about
a quarter cup here.
We'll let that thicken up
and while we're doing that,
let's put the pineapples
on top of the meatball.
Yum.
One small chunk on
top of each meatball.
And then were going to put
it back in the oven for a
couple of minutes to let
that pineapple
heat up a bit.
And the juice from the
pineapple will go down into
the meatball.
We are going to skewer these
with the pineapple...
and we're just going to
take that
and spoon it over,
a little bit on
each meatball.
And now we can eat
so it was that easy.
All right, let's dig in.
Okay.
I am dying to try
one of these tacos.
You can really taste
difference between grass fed
and grain fed beef.
So nutritional, lean
and it's got that delicious
meaty flavor.
Yeah.
I can't get enough.
Oh wow,
Umm hmmm...
That is so good
Lots of folks love beef
on their dinner table.
Americans consumed more than
26 billion pounds
of beef in 2010.
And lots of American beef
makes its way north,
south, and west.
Canada, Mexico, South Korea
and Japan are big importers
of American beef.
Artists have been painting
rural landscapes for
centuries - working outdoors
to capture the subtle
changes in light and
color on fields
and farm buildings.
And here in northern
California,
one unique partnership has
brought together farmers and
artists in encouraging
that creative spirit.
♪
The scenic beauty of
America's farm and ranchland
has long been a natural
inspiration for artists
and photographers.
From sweeping fields of
South Dakota Wheat...
to the wide open spaces of
Colorado cattle country...
to the rolling hills of
California's Capay Valley.
This is um the second time
I've been here at this farm.
And I'm trying to
capture these hills.
And I've been working on it
like in between when I'm not
even here to see how I can
get the feel of just like
the curves and the
undulations of the land.
And ah that's my goal today.
I'm painting the hedgerow
over there
and the orchard in front of it.
I like that contrast
of that big,
dark windbreak and I like
the lime green line of the
I think they're
apricots over there.
Not wanting to impose or
trespass many artists
often limit themselves to
accessing heartland views
from public roadways.
But California farmer
and fellow artist Annie Main
recognized those
limitations and began
inviting creative folks
onto her farmland in
Yolo county East of
San Francisco.
Having our own farm, and
seeing the landscape and
seeing the beauty, that was
when I started inviting
other artists here to
places that they would never
have the opportunity
to go to.
I think somebody is going
to go paint out there.
Annie reached out to an
existing Yolo County Arts
program together creating
the "Arts &Ag Project".
It's an outreach effort
that connects artists with
farmers, growers, and
ranchers promoting art
and agriculture.
Any way that you can get
people to stop and think
about where their food comes
from and the importance of
ah fresh food,
fresh local food.
And if we can do that
through a painting,
that's fabulous.
The program allows as many
as 35 artists to visit a
Yolo County farm or
ranch each month.
Usually in the early morning
or late afternoon
taking advantage of the
natural light.
I'll look at the hills,
the lighting on the hills,
and it is a moment, you know
where that light hits it and
creates the scene.
And it is so
incredibly beautiful.
And then there's the
challenge of seeing if you can
figure out how to catch
it on a piece of paper,
in water color, or
even in a photograph.
"The thing I
like about it is it puts
me in touch with nature."
Maryanne Kirsch has been
teaching art for 25 years
and believes that programs
like these help people to
understand the importance of
maintaining open space and
protecting rural land.
This is a valuable
part of our life,
and a valuable part
of our environment.
And that's key to what's
happening right now because
I think preserving the
environment is a number
one issue for us.
This project actually has given
me access to lots of venues.
Rebecca Ryland uses water
colors in crafting her
landscape artwork.
She enjoys the solitude of
working in an environment
that's filled with plants
instead of people.
I think the arts
benefit all of us.
For the farmer, um its
been really I think,
I think sometimes they enjoy
having visitors on the farm.
Some of them definitely do.
And of course if they don't
they make themselves scarce.
So, it is it's um an
activity where everybody
gets to be together.
The Arts and Ag Project in
Yolo County has proven to be
so successful that it
recently received a grant
from the National Endowment
for the Arts, providing a
model for other communities
that want to showcase their
tie to the land and
American agriculture.
It's exceeded our
wildest expectations.
And now we're getting phone
calls from all over the
country - from
Alaska to Texas.
People who can see how maybe
this can work in
their own community.
The completed artworks
capture iconic images of
rural life in America.
And many of the projects
find their way to a year end
public event, the
proceeds from which
are used to promote
farmland preservation.
The message is that
this is worth saving.
That we really want these
farms to exist
in the future.
I really feel that if lose
the appreciation for our
farm lands, we lose a part
of our American soul.
I think it connects the
community to their place.
And ultimately that's
the...that's the power of
where we are,
and who we are,
and what we want
for our community.
That's going to
wrap it up for us.
We're glad you could come
along to discover the
interesting people and
places in
America's Heartland.
And don't forget you can
stay in touch with us 24/7.
We make it easy on you.
You can find us on some of
your favorite sites and you
can see all of our video and
stories online at
americasheartland.org
We'll see you next time...
on America's Heartland.
You can purchase a DVD or Blu
Ray copy of this program.
Here's the cost:
To order, just visit us
online or call 888-814-3923.
♪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..."
The United Soybean Board
whose Common Ground program
creates conversations to
help consumers get the facts
about farming and food.
There's more at:
findourcommonground.com
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 -
♪