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U.S. public television series America’s Heartland begins its second season
Sacramento, California
September 7, 2006

America’s Heartland, the public television series that celebrates the miracle of American agriculture, is back for a second season, and the show’s producers plan to make the show better than ever. America’s Heartland, a collective effort among Monsanto, the American Farm Bureau (AFBF)and other leading farm organizations, tells the stories of innovative farm and ranch families across the nation.

The program is a magazine-style, half-hour series produced by KVIE television in Sacramento, California. Just as it did during its premiere season, America’s Heartland begins its second season with a slate of all-new stories captured from locations throughout the nation.

“We were pleased with the first-season success of America’s Heartland,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “The audience response was fantastic, both from farmers and ranchers and, more importantly, the non-farm public. We are looking forward to the second season and are anticipating that even more stations will be airing this important show.”

America’s Heartland’s audience in the show’s inaugural season exceeded 50 percent of the nation’s households. During the first year, 20 episodes were produced, containing 99 stories gathered from more than 20 states.

“America's Heartland is a special project, particularly for all of us involved in agriculture,” said Ernesto Fajardo, Monsanto’s vice president of U.S. Crop Production. “It is rewarding to see farmers and ranchers being saluted for the hard work they do for everyone else. The response and interest by the general public to the show pleases us very much as we head into season two."

Executive producer Mike Sanford said one emphasis of season two is to showcase how traditional producers of America’s commodity crops—like wheat, corn, soybeans and rice—undertake the major tasks of planting, nurturing and harvesting their crops in ways that economically sustain their families and the natural resources on which they rely. He said the show also will honor the small farmer seeking new and innovative ways to survive and succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

“Among the strengths of the first season, we feel, was both the quality of the storytelling and the great variety of subjects,” Sanford said. “We’re so gratified by the positive response generated in the first season. The heartland has so many compelling stories, and we’re incredibly excited about bringing those stories to our viewers for another season.”

Another enhancement is the show’s increased presence on the Internet, making it available to an even wider audience. The public can now view all 20 episodes of season one and the first five episodes of season two at www.americasheartland.org. Future episodes will be added to the site as they are produced. The first several episodes of season two also have been fed to public television stations, and they have already aired in some markets, according to Sanford.

Viewers can check with their local PBS affiliate to see when the show is airing. While some stations have started airing the second season, others are now repeating the first season, while still others are showing season one for the first time.

In all, America’s Heartland can now be viewed (in analog, digital, or both formats) in 84 percent of the nation’s television households. In addition, RFD-TV, the rural-interest satellite channel that aired season one, will start showing the second season in late September or early October.

The series’ flagship supporters for the second season continue to be Monsanto and AFBF. America’s Heartland supporting contributors include the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Association of Wheat Growers, United Soybean Board and U.S. Grains Council.

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