Hi I'm Jason Shoultz.

If you live in the city or suburbs, what kind of chance do you really have to learn about American agriculture?

Well watching our show is a pretty good start.

But coming up, some country connections that put urban residents close to the land.

Illinois' Heritage Prairie Farm has carved a niche for itself with farm events and community supported agriculture as well as answering the demand for fresh produce from a national supermarket chain.

We'll take you to Michigan where red ripe apples draw city folks looking for a day in the country.

We'll travel to California where the farming future for some people is right in the heart of the city.

And then settle down around the campfire.

This Arizona ranch shows city slickers that life on the open range can be a tasty experience.

It's all coming up on America's Heartland.

>>Come and get it before I throw it out!

>>America's Heartland is made possible by: >>Farm Credit - Helping rural America meet the needs of a growing nation since 1916.

For more information, visit FarmCredit.com CropLife America- Representing the companies whose modern farming innovations help America's farmers provide nutritious food for communities around the globe.

The Fund for Agriculture Education.

A fund created by KVIE to support America's Heartland programming.

Contributors include the following.

♪♪♪ You can see it in the eyes of every woman and man ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ In America's Heartland, livin' close to the land ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ There's a love for the country ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ And a pride in the brand ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ In America's Heartland ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Livin' close... close to the land ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >>You know, one of the things that we like to do on every episode of America's Heartland is to take you into the country to meet the people whose hard work provides food, fuel and fiber to our nation and the world.

We've had great feedback from urban viewers who say our show has given them a better understanding of the challenges faced by America's farmers and ranchers.

And it's an important story: Let's run the numbers.

Agriculture is critical to the economy.

In 2013, cash receipts for crops totaled 220 billion dollars with another 172 billion for livestock and related products.

In 2012 agricultural exports totaled 141 billion dollars.

Our biggest customers?

China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the European Union.

And as you might expect those numbers are especially important to the economic health of America's small towns and rural communities.

So let's give you a few examples of making a connection between city and country to find out more about agriculture and, perhaps, come in contact with those who put food on your dinner table.

Let's start with a farm that we discovered in Northern Illinois.

The cooks at Heritage Prairie Farm are busy on this Friday afternoon.

Just outside the garage- converted-into-kitchen, a wedding party rehearses.

>>You guys are gonna walk all the way up to the front, ok. [laughing] >>We view the events and the farming as all one thing.

That is who we are.

>>Nate Sumner is the Operations Manager here.

He keeps an eye on everything: harvesting produce, the small farm store, and farm events.

I have a background in the culinary world.

That's what I went to school for.

I have a passion for growing food, and I can't think of any other way I could possibly combine my two passions into one job.

>>While that background might not work with many farms, it's a perfect fit for this small organic farm just outside of Chicago.

>>We like to think of ourselves as a one stop shop for food production and food preparation.

So when it comes to the food here at Heritage Prairie Farm, we view the growing methods and the kitchen methods to be a cohesive process.

For instance, for our farm dinners we will write our menus for the dinner in the fall the same time that we're writing our farm plan in January.

And that way we can really get creative about how we're going to grow things, what varieties we're going to select.

>>Weddings and events are this farm's biggest revenue source Also, produce is sold through the farm's Community Supported Agriculture program and in the on-site market.

So Nate, one of the things you have to do is diversify and look for what's next, right?

This is what we are talking about.

>>Absolutely.

So these are a product that we started growing, that we are selling it throughout the region.

Microgreens.

>>And look at that... >>So this is micro kale.

So, in these- in this much micro kale there is four to six times more nutrients than this much adult kale.

So in this package, which is one and a quarter ounce, is you know, that's the equivalent of eating, four to six ounces of adult kale.

Seriously.

Yeah and the reason for that is three fold.

One is that we're photosynthesizing nutrients from the sun cause this has been grown in a greenhouse.

>>Ok.

>>It's grown in soil, so it's pulling nutrients up from the soil.

But the third part is the seed.

These little leaves are called the cotyledons and they're kind of the storage vessel of the energy that's in the seed.

>>You'll also find the microgreens at area Whole Foods stores, providing another source of revenue for Heritage Prairie.

The diversification of the farm highlights a challenge that smaller agricultural enterprises face.

Particularly organic farms.

>>A lot of times people don't understand quite the work that goes into organic food.

Y'know, when we prepare a bed, we do it by hand.

When we seed a bed, we do it by hand.

When we weed a bed, harvest a bed, wash all the produce that came off that bed.

It's all by hand.

>>You know, it's hard work.

But it's good work... >>Tom Pautsch knows just how much work it takes.

The former carpenter lost more than 30 pounds after working here for just a few months.

>>I've always enjoyed growing things, I've always had a green thumb and I figured I'd apply it to something I can do for a living instead of doing it in my backyard.

>>Another challenge for organic farms like Heritage Prairie, combating pests like this nasty thing.

This is the tomato hornworm.

A tomato hornworm could decimate a whole greenhouse within a few weeks if we didn't take care of it.

There are some controls that we can use organically, to be organic doesn't mean that we don't use pesticides or we don't use herbicides.

It just means that anytime that we do use a substance it has to be of natural origin.

It cannot be synthetic or man-made.

And we have to have a reason to use it and we have to justify the need for it.

>>The farm also is home to about 40 bee hives.

Besides pollinating the crops the bees produce honey that gets sold in the farm store and to local chefs.

Of course the bee hives are not part of weddings or farm dinners!

But everything else about Heritage Prairie is about sharing the farm philosophy with visitors!

>>Our mission statement is to cultivate great life experiences through food.

So when people come here I want them to enjoy themselves Have a good time.

But I also want them to learn a little bit about where their food comes from and have a more authentic food experience while they're here.

♪♪♪ >>Corn and soybeans are the two top crops for farmers in Illinois.

A lot of the corn goes for cattle feed, but corn syrup is a major sweetener for soft drinks in this country.

And while soybeans are used for food products and livestock feed, did you know that newspapers use soy ink to put the printing on the page?

>>Let's make another country connection.

If you've ever been to a farmers market you've seen farmers and ranchers reaching out to consumers by bringing their products directly to market.

Well, our Sarah Gardner says for one farm in Michigan, "reaching out" can mean bringing the consumers to you >>Boys and girls, I need your eyes back here please.

>>The folks at Westview Orchards have a name for their type of business: "agri-tourism".

It's a growing segment of agriculture as farmers look to diversify and find new streams of income.

>>Well about 10 years ago, we could see that our sales on our fruits and vegetables were kind of hitting a plateau if not decreasing.

And people were asking to see farm animals, to actually pick apples, and to get out on the farm.

>>So Abby Jacobson and her sister, Katrina Schumacher decided to market their orchard crops directly.

>>The families can pick apples, enjoy the open space, pet animals, and really get a taste of what farm life is like.

Find that apple that you like and then tip it upside down.

>>Westview Orchards is one of a growing number of farms operated by women.

Thousands of school children visit each year.

For most, it's the first time ever outside the city.

♪♪♪ >>This gives people the opportunity to go out and see well a pumpkin actually grows on a vine in a field and an apple actually grows on a tree.

And you'd be surprised how many people don't- they don't have that connection or that opportunity.

>>The women decided they needed more than just crops and livestock to grow the business.

So a cider mill was added; a bakery, ice cream shop, corn maze and wagon rides.

But those modern attractions aside, farming on this land comes with a lengthy legacy.

>>Back in the early 1800s there was a young man who had ambitions to have his own orchards.

And he grew up in Ontario County of New York state.

And after he served in the war of 1812 and lots of opportunities here in Michigan, he came to Michigan and was looking for land for orchards >>Today, generations later, the family orchards are still producing.

>>It's something that I think is in our blood so to speak.

We were next generation and always felt that the farm would go on and that we would be the next generation to take over.

>>Throughout the orchards, there are reminders of an earlier era: hundred-year-old apple trees planted by the sister's grandfather, or the one-room schoolhouse where many family members learned to read and write.

>>My grandfather and his four sibling attended that school and then my mom and her twin and her older brother.

This schoolhouse has a special place in my heart.

>>They may look back with pleasure on the past, but this farm has adapted modern improvements.

Drip irrigation systems conserve water; grasses in the groves reduce soil erosion.

Abby tell me about your weather station here.

>>It monitors what's called degree days so then that tells us when to start looking for certain insects.

Helps us immensely in minimizing the amount of control materials that we have to put out there so we're producing a safe product, a healthier product and we're protecting the environment as well.

>>You guys all have your bags?

>>It may not be your usual image of an American farm, but for this family, the heritage of the land and their connection to consumers delivers what the sisters call family, food and fun.

>>To see that it's a family tradition makes me feel so good that were providing a service and providing family memories to help make families stronger, to help make those connections and memories that they'll have for a lifetime.

♪♪♪ >>Dairy, corn and soybeans are 1, 2, 3 when it comes to agricultural commodities in Michigan.

But the state is also well known for its floriculture industry... bedding plants, potted flowers and perennials.

By the way, Michigan farmers grow much of the spearmint and peppermint used in the United States.

♪♪♪ >>A hundred years ago, even 50 years ago, it was a good bet that someone in your family, perhaps a distant relative, still made their living on a farm or ranch.

That's not the case today.

Farms and ranch families make up only two percent of the U.S. population.

But there's an interesting trend going on in some parts of the country.

If you're looking for a farmer, you can sometimes find them in the city.

Oakland, California is a good example.

[kids singing] Kelly Carlisle is opening the entrance to a particular kind of farm camp.

>>Okay, thank you.

♪♪♪ >>The "fields" here sit in the in the middle of "very urban" neighborhoods in East Oakland, California.

As Kelly opens the entrance, she also hopes she's opening the future for the youngsters who visit here.

[kids singing] And we will stand up tall, and we will never fall!

>>What I wanted to do was figure out a way for kids to invest in themselves, you know.

They can't control where they live or what their families are doing, what their parents or guardians are doing.

But they can look at themselves differently, and look at their communities differently.

So I decided to try to blend my love of gardening and really the sense of serenity that growing things brings me, with micro-enterprise.

Bananas actually do have seeds, but they're so little that you have to- that you can't plant 'em from seeds.

You have to plant them from cuttings.

>>Following her service in the U.S. Navy, Kelly returned to her Bay Area neighborhood.

What she found spurred her to consider a future that might make a change to some of the very troubling urban realities.

Oakland being ranked the fifth most dangerous city in the United States, teen prostitution being on the rise here in East Oakland And the one that really hurt me the most was almost 40% dropout rate for teens here.

>>Kelly also noticed that there were no grocery stores in the area.

>>In the almost four years that I've been here, we've lost a grocery store, not gained one.

The closest grocery store to here is a second rate grocery store forty-five minutes by bus away.

>>A single parent who had recently been laid-off from her job, Kelly saw an opportunity to not only create work for herself, but also give back to the community.

>>Compost is like something that you already use and other people can like reuse it.

>>The result was "Acta Non Verba -Youth Urban Farm Project," a venture she operates on property leased from the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department.

"Acta Non Verba" is Latin for "Actions, Not Words" >>It has been a really challenging sell to have a community space with organically-grown produce in this community.

It has not been embraced until just recently, just in the last, y'know, nine to twelve months.

In my opinion, it's because the whole area suffers from low self-esteem.

It says strawberries are red, they are soft.

When they are just growing they are green.

>>This urban farm helps children between the ages of 5 and 13 learn basic farming and gardening skills.

But it also teaches important life lessons about working with others and taking responsibility.

>>It feels like- like I have a kid, but it lives in the dirt, and I'm watering it.

Water's healthy, and water- and plants need water too.

>>I think that having the kids be able to tell me things that they learn, you know, like, y'know, [laughs] "That mint really was good in the lemonade Miss Kelly," y'know, like, that's really rewarding for me.

>>A wide variety of fresh vegetables grown here is sold to folks in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Money earned by these young farmers is then placed in savings accounts to be used for their future education.

>>To have something here that's steady, something that is continuous, that's always gonna be here.

It's my hope, it's my dream that these children will understand that and will take it with them, y'know, in their lives.

>>Marissa Pienaar is a parent of two of Kelly's young farmers.

Marissa was initially skeptical.

She's now an avid supporter after seeing how her children have embraced the activities.

>>I think they're learning how to take care of somebody else.

Kind of how to think a little bit bigger than themselves.

I also think that they are learning a lot of teamwork.

My kids, just as a unit the two of them, do really well together.

But my daughter's pretty introverted, so I like that there's the teamwork aspect.

So, she can really learn how to come out of her shell a little bit and be- be working with other people.

>>What do you want to be when you grow up?

>>Kelly's program has branched out into a nearby Parks and Recreation facility.

It now includes interactive story-telling sessions, and classes where the garden's vegetables are used to create artwork- call it "food and fine art."

[sound of children playing violins] There's even a music appreciation class.

[sound of children playing violins] >>You want more grapes?

>>And, of course, the young farmers get to share in the bounty of food at lunchtime.

>>We growed the foods and vegetables.

>>Great job!

>>But, Kelly's garden is at the core of her goal to help inner-city kids grow, develop, and stay healthy, much like her urban farm does.

>>My dream in the next few years is to get a lot more land, to actually get production land.

Y'know, this is more of a teaching farm where y'know, we have the twenty-two fifty square foot raised beds, but to actually have acreage where we can build a space where kids can go on retreat.

This community deserves to have all of this beauty and bounty in it.

[kids singing and laughing along with teacher] ♪♪♪ >>Urban agriculture isn't new.

Travel back to the 19th century and homes in many cities had extensive garden plots- some with livestock as well.

Today a number of cities encourage community gardens.

Produce from those will often make its way to farmers markets for sale.

♪♪♪ >>In addition to the country connections that we've shared with you so far, agri-tourism is another way that urban residents can learn more about farms and ranches.

And it doesn't mean climbing aboard a tractor to bring in the harvest.

Our Rob Stewart says one rancher in Arizona celebrates the rural life with a wagon ride and some country cooking.

♪♪♪ >>Brett Barker knows that there's something about the old west that connects you with a sense of well-being and nature.

And when he takes you along on a wagon ride across the Arizona desert, there's an emotional, and fun, connection to the land.

>>You know, I never ever lose my enthusiasm or my fascination with driving.

Every time my hands get on the line it just feels like electricity.

>>Team - go!

>>Whoa!

[laughing] >>Wagon rides and campfires are the kind of activities that "Brett's Desert Adventures" offers to those looking for a slice of the heartland in the American Southwest.

His Scottsdale ranch is home to some spectacular draft horses that he uses for driving classes.

Their names?

>>Well, they're seven sisters I've raised from babies.

Abbie, Gail, Maud, Molly, Trixie, Stella & Lilly.

>>Together the team of horses, lead by Brett, takes tourists on a ride through the stunning hills of history.

>>And hold left, excellent, excellent, hold back a little more, little more, hold back.

Right up here I want you to pull back and say, "Whoa."

>>Whoa.

>>Excellent.

>>I've never done anything like that before.

>>There is electricity that travels through these lines.

There really is.

♪♪♪ >>When you bring people up here, I'm sure it just takes their breath away.

>>Yes.

Especially if you're from the Midwest or the East, they- they can't really believe that the desert has this much life.

They think of the desert as this sharp desolate place, and it is sharp, and it's tough, but there's a lot of life and a lot of beauty in this desert.

♪♪♪ >>Lisa, what did you think about that?

>>I loved that.

What a unique experience.

Just something you don't get to do every day.

And it was just- I loved the power of those horses.

I love the connection between the driver and those beautiful, powerful animals.

>>How about you, Ann?

>>Absolutely.

Just a treat.

It's amazing to see, and do.

>>Back at the camp, the horses head for some hay in their stalls.

And it's time for a campfire cookout- cowboy style!

[cowboy singing and playing guitar] Tonight's guests, a corporate group, in town for an intense two day training.

It's time for them to unwind and make that country connection.

So you guys have had a stressful couple of days, right?

>>A little.

>>So how does this change that?

>>You know, it takes you out of everything.

It takes you away from all the distractions, it allows you to like... sit under the stars, not be distracted by anybody or anything, and it just lets you focus on your peers and your thoughts, and your- yeah, it just feels good.

[people laughing and chatting] [ringing triangle dinner bell] >>Come and get it before I throw it out!

>>The menu- chicken with onions, carrots and potatoes.

Pork green chili stew, cowboy beans and biscuits.

>>These are cowboy beans with ham hocks so there are some parts in there, man, right when you get in there, Rob.

>>Means I have to come back for more, come back for more.

♪♪♪ So here we are at the end of the day, the campfire is going, your crowd's relaxing, the music's playing, what do you think?

>>I think at the end of the day, as much work as we've put into this, the spirit's been recharged.

The spirit comes together.

Theirs will have come together and tomorrow we'll be ready to go again.

[singing and playing guitar] ♪♪♪ I saddle up my pony, ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ and I ride off down the trail, ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ to watch that evenin' sun go down.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >>Before we head out of here, I hope you've had a chance to connect with us online or through social media.

There are hundreds of videos on agriculture at our website along with other information.

You'll find us at AmericasHeartland.org And, of course, you can connect through Facebook, Twitter or many social media sites.

That's gonna do it for us.

Thanks for coming along with us on America's Heartland.

♪♪♪ You can see it in the eyes of every woman and man ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ In America's Heartland, livin' close to the land ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ There's a love for the country ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ And a pride in the brand ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ In America's Heartland ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Livin' close... close to the land ♪♪♪ >>America's Heartland is made possible by... ♪♪♪ >>Farm Credit - Helping rural America meet the needs of a growing nation since 1916.

♪♪♪ For more information visit FarmCredit.com ♪♪♪ >>CropLife America- Representing the companies whose modern farming innovations help America's farmers provide nutritious food for communities around the globe.

♪♪♪ The Fund for Agriculture Education - A fund created by KVIE to support America's Heartland programming.

Contributors include the following: