News & Notes 2

Season 3, Edition 2

I hope you had a chance to read our last newsletter outlining some of the exciting plans underway for the launch of Season 3 of America’s Heartland.

As we noted, we’re on target to complete our goal of visiting all 50 states to learn more about the unique crops, commodities, challenges and rewards that farmers and ranchers create and experience in each.

For example, our Pat McConahay is just back from New Jersey, where she was surprised to learn just how farmland still exists in that industrialized state. Of course, farmers in the Garden State, like so many others, still face challenges in maintaining their essential presence in the face of increasing urbanization. But one of the stories you’ll see in season 3 is Pat’s report on new efforts in New Jersey to preserve farm land for future generations.

Meantime, reporter Jason Shoultz just returned from Mississippi, where he was blessed with good weather and a bumper crop of excellent stories, including flying with an old-fashioned crop duster who still takes to the air to help farmers achieve a successful harvest. Jason also visited a huge catfish farm to see how that unique specialty crop is raised. And, he joins a specialized “ag crime unit” doing its best to help farmers prevent thieves from stealing their hard-won product.
The first episode of Season 3 is now complete and will start appearing on many PBS stations across America in September. Next newsletter, we’ll tell you more about what new stories to look for in the first few weeks of the new season. In the meantime, please click on our “Watch Heartland” link on our website to see where you can catch the program, or go to your own local PBS station website. You can also watch segments online at americasheartland.org
Thanks for watching!

Seth Alspaugh
Executive Producer
America’s Heartland