Farm Credit Renews Support for America's Heartland

Underwriting support of season eight enables more award-winning programming to connect the nation's agriculture producers with millions of non-farm consumers

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 10 - America’s Heartland (www.AmericasHeartland.org) announced today that Farm Credit (www.FarmCredit.com) has committed to renew its underwriting support for season eight of the award-winning national television series celebrating American agriculture. This is Farm Credit’s second season to underwrite the program viewed on more than 240 public television stations as well as the RFD-TV cable and satellite channel.

“Farm Credit’s partnership with America’s Heartland has been mutually beneficial and we are excited to continue with another season,” said Christina Bowen, national contributions director for Farm Credit. “America’s Heartland offers excellent programming that aligns in so many ways with our mission of support to agriculture and rural America and honors farmers and ranchers while sharing their positive stories with the public.”

In addition to underwriting season seven and season eight, Farm Credit will soon be providing valuable multimedia resources for visitors to AmericasHeartland.org through an educational video series called aGROWnomics. aGROWnomics will allow Farm Credit experts to share information about the economics of agriculture and how it affects farmers and consumers.

“Farm Credit has been an outstanding partner for our seventh season and our ongoing relationship allows KVIE to continue exploring and sharing the contributions that American agriculture makes to our communities, the economy and the world,” said Michael Sanford, vice-president of content creation at KVIE Public Television in Sacramento, which produces the series.

Additional season seven underwriters include the United Soybean Board and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The America’s Heartland seventh season began airing on public television stations and RFD-TV in September 2011. While most stations will begin airing season eight in September 2012, production on the new season will begin as early as this December. For more information on episode schedules and PBS station carriage, go to www.americasheartland.org and www.rfdtv.com.

About America’s Heartland
Award-winning America’s Heartland has been introducing non-farm viewers to the men and women who provide the food, fuel, and fiber we use and consume since 2005. Currently, the series is available in 20 of the top 25 television markets on more than 240 PBS stations covering 60 percent of the United States. Including its RFD-TV viewership, the series reaches more than 40 million viewers each season. In-kind production support is provided by the National Corn Growers Association, U.S. Grains Council, American Soybean Association, FFA, National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Cotton Council of America. Visit AmericasHeartland.org to view episodes and access educational resources and complementary video series offerings.

About Farm Credit: Lending Support to Rural America
For 95 years, Farm Credit has been a national provider of credit and related services to rural America through a cooperative network of customer-owned lending institutions and specialized service organizations. Created by Congress in 1916, the Farm Credit System provides more than $175 billion in loans and leases to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives. For more information about the Farm Credit System, please visit www.farmcredit.com.