2022

S2.E1 ∙ Tomatoes From The Ceiling

Wed, Jul 20, 2022

Have you ever wondered how we're going to grow food on the moon? Or Mars? Or just find ways to reduce food miles and food waste here at home? All while producing more food with less land, less water and closer to the communities where we live and work? High-tech greenhouses are looking like the answer. Just a few acres of greenhouse space can produce more food than an entire conventional farm, with a fraction of the water and other inputs. We visited Red Sun Farm's Dublin, VA showcase to take a look at where farming is heading next.

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S2.E2 ∙ Farming's New Research Jewel

Wed, Jul 27, 2022

They cut the ribbon on the sparking new $140 million Steve Troxler North Carolina Department of Agricultural Science Center in March of this year. We stopped by a month later for a tour of what is likely the world's finest Ag research facility, a five-acre campus that brings virtually all of the state's Ag science departments under one roof. You'll be amazed how many things in this building touch your life every day, from the food you eat or feed your pets, to the medicine you take, to the clothes on your back and the gas or diesel in your vehicle, here's where they make sure it's all up to snuff. And it's also where they weight the official state lottery balls.

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S2.E3 ∙ Where The Food CAME From, Part 1

Wed, Aug 03, 2022

You think farming's hard now? You should have been there in 1870. Chip Carter found a time machine for a trip to the Georgia Museum of Agricultural on the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton. It's a 400-acre living history exhibit where they still plow with mules, shear sheep for wool, distill turpentine, grind grain for meal, pound away at the blacksmith's forge, and make their own lumber with a very scary looking sawmill... which Chip broke. Among a few other things as he experienced what would have been a typical day for a farmer 150 years ago.

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S2.E4 ∙ Where The Food CAME From, Part 2

Wed, Aug 10, 2022

Chip Carter takes a time machine back to 1870 to spend a typical day working on the farm. And he's still tired. No wonder -- in Part 2 alone, he works a blacksmith's forge, finishes the turpentine process that started in Part 1, takes a ride with some train engineers and grinds corn to make grits and meal. Back then, a day's work was never done.

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S2.E5 ∙ Feed My Sheep, Part 1

Wed, Aug 17, 2022

Hunger in America has a new face. And it might just be your neighbor's. Rising food costs, a horrible pandemic, uncertain economic times, these have all led to an unprecedented demand for access to affordable - preferably free - nutritious food. And our nation's farmers are responding to that call. Many are working with a remarkable operation called Feeding America and its partners like the Society of St. Andrew, which gleans what's left after farmers harvest for distribution in the local community. It's a tragic, but ultimately triumphant story we're proud to bring you in two parts.

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S2.E6 ∙ Feed My Sheep, Part 2

Wed, Aug 24, 2022

We know food waste is a huge issue. Americans throw away about a third of what they buy at the grocery store. But did you know farmers are only able to harvest about 60 percent of what they plant on average? What's left behind is either ugly, too large, too small, something that makes it unsuitable for sale but just as delicious and healthy as its prettier cousins. We work with farms and organizations like Feeding America and Society of St. Andrew to show how they all pull together to help out. And we even pitched in and helped a little ourselves.

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S2.E7 ∙ Just Peachy

Wed, Aug 31, 2022

They call Georgia the Peach State, and with good reason. And at Lane Southern Orchards in Ft. Valley, GA, they've been growing peaches -- and another Georgia Grown favorite, pecans -- since 1908. And a lot of those trees are planted next to each other in the same orchards. Oh -- and Lane Orchards just might have invented "agritourism" too -- their amazing Peachtree Cafe and Bakery and gift shop has been bringing in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually for years.

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S2.E8 ∙ One Sweet Circle

Wed, Sep 07, 2022

The only problem with Vidalia Onions - Georgia's trademarked crop - is they're only available from April 'til September. When they first came to national prominence in the 1980s, that wasn't a problem. But people loved 'em so much they started asking for more and grocery stores wanted Vidalias year-round. But you can't fool Mother Nature. The Vidalia onion only grows one place on Earth, in the rich soils around Vidalia, GA in the Southeast portion of the state. The search was on for a similar, suitable climate and soil mix that would produce a sweet onion that could be Vidalia's off-season cousin. They found the answer in Peru. Over the last 20 years, those onions - grown by Georgia farmers or in conjunction with their Peruvian partners and distributed through the same infrastructure the Vidalia industry created, have become a little bit famous in their own right as a cousin to the King of Onions. The result is a thriving local economy that makes the Vidalia region a shining example of how small town American can flourish - and is also part of making it one of our favorite places on the planet to be.

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S2.E9 ∙ Welcome To The Show! The SEPC Spectacular, Part 1

Wed, Sep 14, 2022

Most people have never been to a produce trade show. Most people don't even know they exist. But this is where people who grow food by the ton meet up with people who buy it by the ton. The Southeast Produce Council is a member networking and service organization focused on the Southeastern industry - but that includes the countless other people around the nation and world who want to do farm business in or with the Southeast. It's a spectacle of epic proportions - so much so that this SEPC Southern Exposure convention and expo in Orlando, FL this spring had a super-hero theme. Here's Part 1 of our two-part SEPC Spectacular -- welcome to the show.

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S2.E10 ∙ Welcome To The Show! The SEPC Spectacular, Part 2

Wed, Sep 21, 2022

We pick this one up right where we left off -- with the big sprint to the finish at SEPC Southern Exposure. Most people have never been to a produce trade show. Most people don't even know they exist. But this is where people who grow food by the ton meet up with people who buy it by the ton. The Southeast Produce Council is a member networking and service organization focused on the Southeastern industry - but that includes the countless other people around the nation and world who want to do farm business in or with the Southeast. It's a spectacle of epic proportions - so much so that this SEPC Southern Exposure convention and expo in Orlando, FL this spring had a super-hero theme. Here's Part 2 of our two-part SEPC Spectacular - welcome to the show.

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S2.E11 ∙ Heart & Soul, Part 1

Wed, Sep 28, 2022

In Season 1, we showed you how North Carolina sweetpotato farmers do what they do -- which is grow an amazing two-thirds of the U.S. sweetpotato crop. But, as with all farmers, there's another side to show. Farmers are committed to serving and giving back to their communities. In Part 1 of this story, we'll follow the journeys of the amazing Ripe For Revival touring pantry that brings fresh produce into communities where it's needed most. In Part 2, we'll meet a sweetpotato grower who doubles as chief of his volunteer fire department. We'll talk with a cancer survivor who is part of efforts to help others in the community. And we'll meet an amazing man who walked away from a stellar career in the NFL to come home and farm -- and give away everything he grows.

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S2.E12 ∙ Heart & Soul, Part 2

Wed, Oct 05, 2022

In part 2 of this very special episode, you'll meet a sweetpotato grower who -- like many -- does double duty with his volunteer fire department. You'll also meet a cancer survivor who speaks to the way the community supports each other in troubled times. We'll visit another grower who earmarks funds for cancer support. And most amazingly, we'll meet a former NFL star who walked away from the game to come home and farm and give away everything he grows to the needy.

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S2.E13 ∙ Larry's Tree Redux

Wed, Oct 12, 2022

Larry Smith is a Christmas tree grower in the tiny North Carolina town of Newland, population about 700. But even in a town that size, he's hardly the only farmer growing trees - it's pretty much what they do up there. In 2018, Larry won the national contest to provide the official White House Christmas Tree for The Blue Room. Last year, his childhood friend Rusty Estes earned the same honor. And former NBA, NC State and U.S. Olympic great Tommy Burleson is another tree farmer (plus he can still reject a basketball, smack in someone's face... as we found out) But there's something in the air up here - and it smells a lot like Christmas. For a limited time you can watch this great holiday story in full, right here, about how these farmers spend their lives to brighten up your home just once a year.

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