Travelin' Man

My updates to the America's Heartland blog have been few and far between lately and I hope loyal viewers forgive me for that. I've been traveling all over the US shooting segments for our upcoming season. I'm going to be trying some new things in the upcoming weeks...like blogging from the road. Maybe even some video-blogging. Stay tuned for that.

We've been shooting some great stories lately. We've got turkey poop being turned into electricity in Minnesota, clamming off of the Florida panhandle and the beautiful paintings of artist Bonnie Mohr.

Next week I'm off to Wisconsin for some interesting stories. First topic: what else? cheese! We'll also be visiting a pheasant farm and a gourmet dog treat factory. Dog treats on America's Heartland? Well the bar is set high after Paul Ryan's visit to the Yummy Chummies factory in Anchorage, Alaska.

See you on the road!

On The Road Again!

May 5, 2008

On the road again.

Got an email from a viewer suggesting some story ideas and asking just how we pick the stories we feature. Well, as the series producer, I look for stories that focus on the important crops to our farmers, growers and to our country. We often forget that American agriculture plays a major role in our global economy and in providing the food that people depend on in many parts of the world.
We’re always looking for “people” stories as well. There is a joy bringing viewers a story with someone who is excited about what they do and the impact is has on others. So we look for visual, engaging and emotional stories. We are shooting some stories in Florida this week on “harvesting” the seas for clams and oysters. We’ll also meet a man whose bees make a very special kind of honey. Then we’re off to North Carolina to see how furniture is made from soybean foam instead of petroleum products. We’ll also stop by a huge greenhouse operation that supplies plants to a major portion of the U.S. We did some background research on floriculture and were amazed to find it is a multi BILLION dollar agricultural industry in the United States. Small plants...big business!
Jim Finnerty
Series Producer
America’s Heartland