Janesville on my mind

Our America's Heartland travels are once again intersecting with news events. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the timeliness our Asia episode that featured Chinese milk issues. This time it is closer to home.

The General Motors SUV plant in Janesville, Wisconsin is shutting down by the end of 2008. At one time this plant was responsible for rolling out hundreds of thousands of large SUVs. As gas prices skyrocketed earlier this year demand for these SUVs died. So GM shifted focus away from the SUV market. The New York Times Sunday Business section reported on the impact to Janesville.

"The workers there are stunned by the plant’s sudden demise. After building 3.76 million S.U.V.’s over the last 18 years, Janesville is headed for the automotive scrap heap."

We happened to be in Janesville when the plant closing was annouced in June. We were shooting a story about a very successful Pheasant farm in town. Before getting to the farm we had to stop at the post office, where I first heard the news. The clerk behind the counter told me just how big of an impact it would have on his town. At one point 5,000 people worked at the plant.

As we shot our story that day we tried to stay focused on the pheasant farm, but you couldn't escape the difficult news.

Layoffs and plant closings aren't isolated to Janesville. Times are tough in the heartland. Please know that you all are in our thoughts.

Oysters on the Half Shell - episode 407

Fried clams, fried calamari, fried shrimp, fried catfish...all standard fare in the heartland. If a person only ate seafood in those greasy-spoon roadside diners they might think that fish swim through a vat of batter before getting to the table.

But the closer you get to the coasts, the more fresh seafood you find. And in the Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of Mexico I discovered the freshest oysters. The folks at "13 Mile Oysters" have been harvesting and selling oysters for several generations.

A oysterman named Kendall Schoelless took me out to "tong" some oysters off the bottom of the bay. Kendall makes it look easy, but trust me, it takes some skill to pick them up.

Once we got some on the boat we chipped off the extra shell pieces and cracked open a couple. We even ate some right on the boat!

13 Mile ships their oysters all over the Southeast. But if you are ever near Apalachicola Bay, be sure to look them up.
Kendall piloting his small boat.

Another day, another hairnet - Jason Shoultz

In episode 406 I learn how to make butter...lots of butter. I visited the AMPI butter plant in New Ulm, Minnesota. That's the same New Ulm where I learned how to make beer in episode 405.

Mmmm. Beer and butter.

AMPI churns out 120 million pounds of butter a year. We're talking giant tubs, cartons and tiny packets used in restaurants. If you have ever eaten butter at a restaurant, chances are you've eaten AMPI butter.

Rather than go through the details of how to make butter...I'll share some photos from the tour...
Steve Riggs and I conferring on how silly we look.

Manager Bill Swan and a fellow AMPI employee discussing how silly Steve and I look.


Bill Swan explaining that pink hairnets are actually in style now.

I need a drink - Jason Shoultz

In episode 405 we visit Schell's brewery in New Ulm, Minnesota. The President, Ted Marti showed me around their historic brewery on the Minnesota River. The operation has been in the family for more tha 145 years. It's the second oldest family owned and managed brewery in the U.S.

I admit, I'm a beer drinker (have to stay true to my German roots), so I was looking forward to this story. There was another reason why I was excited about visiting Schell's. Frankly, I needed a beer. Take a look at this photo and you'll get an idea why...

The "no whining" sticker inside my production folder turned out to be a perfect sentiment for the first part of our Minnesota trip. A late-season winter storm blasted the state on our first day of our shoot there.

We typically shoot a handful of segments in each state during our visit. The storm hit while we were learning how pickles were made in Chaska, Minnesota. Fortunately making pickles is done inside, so we didn't have to do any shooting in the blizzard.

But we did have to drive...and that was a little challenging.

That was left to photographer Steve Riggs. He's comes from a news photographer background, so I'm usually telling him, "slow down, there's no fire." In this case I was just trying to convince him that talking on the cell phone while driving in a blizzard isn't the best of ideas.

But we made it to our hotel in Hutchinson...

...decided against a romance package and went for two standard rooms.

We took comfort in hearing the locals tell us that the winter had been generally pretty mild, until this storm hit.

A few days later, the weather warmed up a bit just in time for a tall cold one with Ted Marti at Schell's.

It's safe to say beer is in Ted Marti's blood. Not in a "blood alcohol content" kind of way. It's just that brewing beer has been in his family for generations. Ted is a pretty no-nonsense guy who takes his beer-making pretty seriously. I don't consider myself an afficianado, but I learned quite a bit about brewing beer on this visit.

If you are ever near New Ulm, Minnesota be sure to stop by the brewery. It is open for tours and there is a very nice museum and gift shop. Even if you aren't a beer fan, the historic buildings are worth your time. And if you ARE a beer-drinker, I recommend trying the "Maifest." It's a seasonal brew sold in the Spring...which I THOUGHT was in April.

And tell them Jason sent you!

Time for some viewer feedback...

We love hearing from viewers. Please send along your comments, questions and ideas!

From Libby in Georgia:
I have recommended your series to all the agriculture education teachers in the State of Georgia. It sounds like some of them may even order the CD sets.
Why not do an episode on making linen from flax?

Thanks for watching, Libby! And thanks to all of the teachers out there who use the educational materials. You can easily download them from our website. Of course each segment is viewable on the website, so if purchasing all the DVD's isn't possible, just click-n-view.

Make sure you tune into episode 414! We've got your "flax into linen" covered! Paul Ryan visits The Landis Valley Museum in Pennsylvania and gets a lesson on linen making from flax. It was an education for me...I didn't know you could do that.

Unfortunately Paul did not bring back a flax shirt for me. Maybe next time...

Jason

Chinese Milk and America's Heartland

You've likely read it in the newspaper and caught it on the TV news...Chinese milk contaminated with the dangerous chemical melamine. The facts are shocking: More than 50,000 kids sickened and 4 babies killed. The crisis has spread outside of China's borders as milk and dairy products are discovered to contain the chemical.

So what does this have to to with our show? Coming up on episode 417 we take a look at the dairy industry in China. As incomes rise in that region more people are drinking milk. Historically China's milk only went to the elite. Because of the low demand, the dairy industry in China has been about 50 years behind the U.S. We visited China as part of our special looking at overseas grain trade. US farmers see opportunity in that increasing milk demand. More milk = more cows. More cows = more feed. You get the idea.

It's hard to guess what kind of long term impact the current milk crisis in the country will have on the dairy industry (and US interests). But after seeing the a small traditional dairy farm in our program, you'll get an idea why there are some serious challenges in the country's dairy industry.

Check your local listings for episode 417! In the meantime, here are some photos from the trip:

Interviewing Charles Shao, co-founder of HuaXia Dairy Farm. HuaXia is US owned and uses western-style dairy management practices.

The milk from HuaXia Dairy Farm is tested at a laboratory for quality and safety. The lab is a joint project with the U.S. Grains council, an organization that works to improve trade for U.S. grain products.

HuaXia sells it's milk under the "Wondermilk" brand name. They charge about 25 percent more because of its higher quality.