The soybean checkoff is part of an exciting new project to launch America’s Heartland, a new agricultural series on public television. The series debuts in some markets in October, but dates vary by market.

America’s Heartland is a weekly series that celebrates American agriculture and the farm and ranch families that help make it possible. The series will profile the people, places and products of U.S. agriculture. The magazine-style, half-hour program will focus on our national love for the land, our fascination with food; and the bedrock American values of family, hard work and independence that make the U.S. agricultural system the finest in the world.

America’s Heartland shows the human element of agriculture and helps consumers put a face on those who produce their food, which is why the soybean checkoff supports it. The show allows the agricultural industry to tell their story to the public.

“The soybean checkoff is proud to help sponsor a groundbreaking agricultural series like America’s Heartland,” says Greg Anderson, USB Chairman and soybean farmer from Newman Grove, Neb. “It is important to show America stories about where their food and fiber come from. The consumer disconnect from how their food is produced has caused challenges for soybean producers, and our number one customer, U.S. animal agriculture.”
The series will be hosted by Paul Ryan, who brings more than 35 years of television experience to his role. Ryan most recently served as host of the popular travel series, Experience America on PBS. Ryan has also worked at reporting and anchoring jobs for network stations in Chicago and San Francisco. In addition, he hosted PM Northwest, a top-rated nightly half-hour show in Seattle and was the face of Rendezvous, a popular travel series on the Discovery Channel. Among Ryan’s awards are seven Emmys.

Along with the United Soybean Board, other sponsors of the series include: Monsanto, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council and the U.S. Grains Council.

The first season of the program will consist of 20 original programs, one or more of which will break from the established format to cover a single topic or theme. The series is distributed to each of more than 300 public television stations in America by America’s Public Television, the single largest provider of programming to public television stations.

Sources at America’s Heartland project the program will be available in markets totaling more than 60 percent of the nation’s viewers. This would mean the show would be carried on approximately 100 stations, reaching more than 71 million households.

To find local listings for America’s Heartland, visit the Web site at www.americasheartland.org. In addition, you can watch episodes of the series on the Web, learn more about the cast or find out more information about the series.

USB is made up of 64 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for the soybean checkoff.