Farmers Home Furniture

america's heartland is madepossible by... â  farm credit -financing agriculture and ruralamerica since 1916. farm credit iscooperatively owned by america'sfarmers and ranchers. learn more at farmcredit.com croplife america -representing the companies whose modern farming innovations helpamerica's farmers provide nutritious food for communitiesaround the globe. hi, i'm sarah gardner.

if you're an animal lover,i think you're going to like this episode ofamerica's heartland. we're gonna share some fun withour feathered and furry friends. some animals withparticular talents. we'll take you to californiawhere some high flying owls are helping farmers keepdown the pest population. you'll meet some veryskillful dogs in nebraska. working dogs to handlesheep and cattle. we depend on inspections tokeep our food supplies safe

when it comes to productsfrom overseas. you'll see how u.s. customsis using highly trained dogsto do the job. and these texas felines aretaking on a new role in life. heading for the country tobecome "barn cats"! it's all coming up onamerica's heartland. ♪you can see it in the eyesof every woman and man♪ ♪in america's heartlandliving close to the land♪ ♪there's a love for the countryand a pride in the brand♪

♪in america's heartland♪ ♪living closeclose to the land♪ ♪♪ it will come as no surprise thatwe love our animals. my dog mustache here is animportant part of our family. and think about these numbers:it's estimated that there are some 83 million dogs in the u.s.and some 95 million cats. both animals play a role inhelping out farmers and ranchers but those are far from the onlyanimals you'll find

in rural america. you may remember, we introducedyou to a utah rancher who sold zebras to those wantingsomething "unusual" around the homestead. many ffa and 4-h membershave pet sheep as projects. and even some suburban andurban homeowners are joining farmers in raising chickensthese days. for some, it's a focus onorganic, for others, it's simply some fresh eggsvery close to home!

speaking of poultry, wefound a man in iowa whose geese were a popular part ofhis town's annual parade. and let's not forget ourporcine friends. how about irene thepotbellied pig who loves to pick up fallen apples on thefamily farm in oregon. on many farms and ranches,the family dog is much more than just a pet. in some instances, ourcanine companions are critical to the work thatneeds to be done.

rob stewart takes you tonebraska and a school turning out "working dogs"for sheep and cattle ranches. they're hopping... huffing... and herding! lie down, lie down! i'm john holman, and i'm anebraska stock dog trainer. welcome to clay center,nebraska where john holman runs dog 4 ewe bordercollie training.

here - he's training dogs toherd sheep and cattle. today's classroom is thepasture... and it's droolingwith dogs! meet mick, lee... sweet savy... ...and pete, today's newpup of the pack. but the top dog today...is mick, just panting for john'scanine commands. steady, mick. walk up,walk up. good boy.

away to me. bringing my sheep in. what were those commands andwhat do they mean? alright. i send him out to the rightfirst or what we say counterclockwise around thesheep, that's an "away to me" clockwise around thelivestock is a "go by." go by. "take time" means to slowdown, "walk up" means stop.

usually it means he's beenrunning around the stock to get into the right position,and then i say "there" "walk up" mean come straight toyour livestock so that they can move the stock off inthe right direction. all across the heartland,working dogs are used to move sheep, cattle and goatsin that "right direction." those skills come from trainingand a dog's natural instinct. ok mick, walk up. these collies are naturalherders and they're

eager to please their owners. "alright, lie down". but, they must be taught tomove the sheep, instead of keeping thempenned up. and so we see mick here withthe sheep in front of him, and mick is just moving them frompasture to pasture, like that. sure, sure. he has total control of thislivestock. you know, i- i tell him wherei want them, he puts them there.

if i really want to getspecific, you know, i can tell him how to do itbut most times i don't have to. and they obey himunbelievably. you know, i got caughtwithout a dog this morning. i was just on my way to workand i stopped by here and tried to do something without thedog- it is so frustrating. it's so- they really do put youin control of your livestock. that's why farmers and ranchersdepend on stock dogs nationwide. low stress livestock, work,and handling.

the dogs take thesheep out to graze or the cattle from onepasture to another. there, you know it all works into the stewardship of the land. alright lee, come here. here, get in here,away to me. john holman tells farmers thatdogs moving sheep and cattle can save time andmoney on the range. absolutely. in fact, if you're talkingabout mounted cowboys and stuff,

they'll take the place of twoguys on horseback.. really... that know what they're doing. they can go places thatthe horses can't get, under brush and into stuffwhere maybe the cattle just plow in to be obnoxious,you know, they can get in there and get a hold of the cow by theheel or by the nose and bring him out where he can getcontrol of him again. talk about a power tool.

it's the power tool,it's kind of a power trip when you get good at it. the power trip is exactlywhy amy novak is here with her dog, honey. lie down, lie down. good job! that's a good move amy,step in front like that. john usually works withfarmers and ranchers to train their border collies...but amy's here to

get away from her busyprofessional life. it's a thrill! it's a rush! an adrenaline rush. and until you ever do it,you don't understand it. step into her a little bit. keep her calm. it's a treat. it's, it's something it'smy- my time away,

my therapy, to get away andcome with the stock and with the dogs, do something thati enjoy and, uh, just to get away from my normal,everyday life. pete, you ready to go?c'mon pete. pete is a farm dog... and justarrived to learn john's skills, before returning to theranch to help his owners herd. he's got some pretty goodbreeding. i saw his registrationpapers... and so i'm kind ofexcited to see what he'll do.

john teaches pete using histone of voice and body language to direct where hewants pete to send the sheep. john can tell if the dogis ready. when i first take a dogout to stock. first i want to see if he'sinterested, which he's already showing me i, you know, a littlebit of interest. i want him to know thati'm going to be in control of what we're doing. i kind of control the paceof this whole thing.

and that i'm gonna... seehe's eyeballing 'em already, dancing around a little. trying to balance on 'em. that's all good signs. he's got concentration andwe like that. john says pete's a natural. national and local awardsfor his prize dogs line john's home office. and the dogs aren't the onlyones enjoying the competition.

i do really love it. i can't hardly even describethe feeling. when things work well andyou get the job done so well. whether it's a job at homeor a trial at competition i go to and we ace a course and weget around there just great. it is like the top of theworld kind of a feeling to know that you have a partnerout there who's ready to go rain or shine or blizzardsor heat or whatever. he's right there or she'sright there the instant

you call 'em in the morning andthey're busy all day long if you want them to be. good boy. great senses of sight,smell and hearing help our canine companions dotheir jobs... on the farm and off. it's estimated that dogscan hear four times better thanhumans; their night vision is five timesbetter and their sense of smell

is more than 40 times sharperthan our noses. you know, it's great when aprogram to benefit animals can also help to meet a needthat exists in the heartland. we're all aware thatferal cats pose a real problem in manycommunities. one solution is an ideathat's taken off in several places including a communityin the lone star state. it's a plan that finds newhomes for our feline friends- down on the farm.

the word feral meanswild and undomesticated. uh, they're very untrustingof humans which is what helps them to survive a lotof times in the wild. pam asturias is a hometownhero to many in the dallas area. she devotes much of her time toa program called "feral friends" these cats, um,i always feel like they don't have anybody tospeak for them. i love all animals. the feral cats, i mean you can'tpick 'em up and cuddle them,

uh, they deserve a chance justlike anybody else. i mean they can't help theirsituation, um, they were born here or dumped outside andthey do the best they can. rather than euthanize, feralfriends traps, spays and neuters the animals then returns thecats to their feral territory. if the cats cannot go backto a situation if a building's being torn down, if somebody isshooting the cats, poisoning them, thenour group turns to a group called barn catsincorporated.

farmers need these cats, uh,they're working cats. peggy atkerson directs barncats, incorporated. working with pam and hergroup, they strive to find better life options for thesewild felines. come here, sammy. begun in 2003, barn catsrelocates feral animals across north texas. placing them on farmsand ranches. they can catch the ratsand the mice,

y'know, control that in theirparticular barn or shed or warehouse, whatever ithappens to be. and... take care of, uh, of a-of a whole set of problems. um, snakes are looking for ratsand mice, so no rats and mice, no snakes. "barn cats" will shelter some 40animals at any given time. after being received fromgroups like "feral friends", they're moved to farm andranch locations and sheltered there, in cages,for at least two weeks.

at the end of two weeks,they leave those doors open to the cage and the cat thenis on their own and we say that's up to god atthat point. so if the cats stay that'sreally, really a good thing. that "adjustment" periodgives them time to get used to the sights, sounds andsmells of their new territory. we won't ever take a kittenbecause a kitten can be carried off by a hawkor an owl. the color of the cat is alsoa factor in some cases.

cats are nocturnal so they'reging to be out hunting at night. a solid white cat is goingto reflect moonlight and then it's going tobe like a coyote magnet. almost every weekend, barncats will place about a half dozen cats in new locationsin northeast texas. today two feral cats began newjobs on melissa wilson's ranch. i have a bad rat problem outhere so when that keeps the rats from coming in the barnand eating the horse food and actually, um,i've actually seen

some of those rats,they're scary. most of them really, reallyappreciate the cats and they want them to be there. they don't want to putout poisons. they don't want their dogsor their children or whomever to get in poison and that isa very serious thing. the cat programs here, andacross the country, strive to give feral animals anew chance at life. and for these cats...

on farms and ranches,a home in the heartland. and it just makes me feel sogood when these cats are spayed and neutered put backout and you just see the males calm down and stopfighting and they just get relaxed and you know theyhave people that care for them and its just awonderful feeling to know that you've saved theirlives. texas may make you thinkof cowboy hats, but texas agriculture isresponsible for many other

things that make up yourwardrobe. texas cattle provide leatherhides for shoes. texas cotton goes intoshirts and blue jeans and wool from texas sheep is used incoats, suits, dresses and more. texas is a major supplierof all three to markets in theu.s. and overseas. let's take another look at dogsthat make their living in the world of agriculture. but this time we're notheading for a farm or ranch.

jason shoultz takes us tocalifornia where some very official canines play asignificant role in protecting american agricultureand the food we eat. every day, foreigninvaders are trying to make entry into theunited states. by air... and even by sea! what you got ross? and working hard to stopthem is officer ross.

and his handler fromu.s. customs and border protection,marguerita stetson. good boy, ross! good boy, right there! ross is on the huntfor bad bugs. nasty bugs and other invasivepests that hitch a ride to america on everythingfrom shipments of bean curd to clothes hangers. you're looking forwhat in here?

we're looking for anyagricultural item of interest. uh, basically we're looking forfruits, meats and plant material. each year, the u.s. importsupwards of two trillion dollars' worth of cargo from countriesall around the world, a testament to ourtruly global economy. while inspecting everythingfor pests isn't practical- random samples of cargo anditems that are deemed suspect end up gettingclose attention.

agriculture is one of thethings that drives america. drives our economic engineand we can't afford to let a single pest come throughthat could affect that. walking through the warehouse islike visiting a global bazaar. you've got pakistani rice. mushrooms from china and eventulip bulbs from new zealand. and one thing customs andborder protection knows, is pests can hitch a rideon any of them. in addition to ourenforcement role,

we also have to make sure thatlegitimate trade and travel moves through our bordersand ports of entry quickly. so we look at a lot ofdifferent factors in deciding which shipments toactually physically inspect. among the most feared pestsis something called the khapra beetle. this nasty little bug isconsidered one of the biggest dangers toagriculture. it's highly destructive tostored grain.

when it first arrived on u.s.soil in california in 1953, it took 15 million dollarsand 13 years to eradicate it. recently the beetlehas been found, again, at other entry points. and that has officialsconcerned. inspectors here at the portof oakland know that the beetle likes tohide in cracks... so they search these cargocontainers top to bottom. you find one or two khaprabeetles in these palettes,

what happens? this is all going back. it would all go back. all going back! it's immediately resealedin the container and the importer or brokeris notified and they schedule it out toback to the origin. even pieces of furnitureget a closer look. when this inspector discoversthe inside of this

pillow is stuffed with ricestraw - it gets flagged. after all - that kahpra beetlecould be inside that straw! preventing pests fromentering our country also happens at airports! you'll find the beaglebrigade nosing around luggage at miami's international airportlooking for food items that can't be brought into theunited states. good boy! that was really good! back at that warehouse incalifornia,

ross has found something. and while he'll never knowjust how important he is to agriculture, the pooch with anose for nuisances is earning his treats today. good boy! the nose knows when it comes to customs and border detectiondogs and it's a tough test. only one out of 70 dogs isfound to have the right skills to finish trainingfor these important positions.

and while u.s. customs has abreeding program for specific dogs,many are chosen from animal shelters andrescue groups. so stories about dogs, cats,pigs and zebras. well, let's take flight forour next one. it's all about some highflying owls who are helping farmers keep down the pestpopulation. some might call it an"old world" solution to a problem that impactsfarms, orchards

and vineyards all acrossthe heartland. using natural predators, likethe north american barn owl, to facilitate "integratedpest management". a true integrated pestmanagement program - ipm - uses as many methods aspossible to control a pest. and so for years we'vebeen using baits and poisons to killpocket gophers. and i decided that it wastime to get off the- the pesticide treadmill and tryand use something different.

this study is being conducted innorthern california vineyards where rodents, such asgophers and voles, are making tasty treatsout of vine roots. in this particular propertywe have limited topsoil, ah we we're growing smallervines, higher end crops, so we need as much root aswe can in the ground. so if a gopher comes by andstarts feeding on these roots, that's you know it's limitingwhat that vine can pull up. hey kids, what's goingon in there?

animal handler and researcherand mark browning is part of the barn owl program... seeinghow many nocturnal raptors are necessary to eradicate thepests in a particular field. the barn owl can be utilizedin almost any crop. they're being utilized inalmond orchards, cherry orchards,pistachio, avocado. and that's californiacrops including, of course, all the grapes. but something else is thatbarn owls are being used in

sugar cane down in floridabecause the barn owl will center on the rodent that ismost populous in its area. to increase the owlpopulation, browning is installingnesting boxes he says are designed to attract thepredator bird. it has a hole that isjust the right size for a barn owl toget interested in. they like to go into a holethat is just small enough for them to squeeze into, but notlarge enough for something

larger and more ferociousto come in and get them. browning is being assistedby several wildlife students from the university ofcalifornia at davis including kymberly sugano. one of sugano's daily duties isto keep track of the dirt mounds that may reappear following anight of owl activity. what we do is, we seemounds and we tap them down and then come back two dayslater in order to see whether or not there hasbeen any change.

and we set up nest boxes inorder to see whether or not we can get more barn owlsinto the study site. remember to hold so thatyou don't get messed on, okay? another job is to assist in themonthly census count of owl chicks to ensure the populationis healthy and increasing. these guys are just starting toget their facial discs in. barn owls have these, uh,concave facial discs created by feathers. and uh that's one of thereasons why barn owls have

some of the best hearing inthe bird world, which is already extremelygood amongst owls. barn owls have some of the besthearing among the owl families. and, uh, these guys, well,their starting to get some flight feathers in, likejillian's got one right here. these guys are coming in,these are flight feathers. and i would say they'reabout two or three weeks away from being able justto fly right out and become adult barnowls themselves.

vintners say the use ofbarn owls in the region for pest control is nothing new. we've had barn owl boxes upfor probably 10 to 15 years now. um, but, in this, with thismany and isolated in specific spots like this,we've never had this many. and we've typically hadone for probably for 40 acres or 30 acres. now we're looking at 25 in ahundred-acre block. browning's research isvalidating the need to

increase the population ofthe raptor. so, if you've got aresearcher in place that can take the time to measurethat impact and determine, how many boxes do we need ina given acreage, where do we need to locatethem for the best effect, how often do we need toclean them, all those types of things,that's wonderful. if we can come across whereyou know we need to put, um, you know, five pertwenty acres,

we'll put five pertwenty acres. yes, there's an expense to that,but you collect that money back by not having to send a tractorthrough the field leaving little bait behind in burrowsfor these gophers to take back to theirown burrow and die. the u.s. fish and wildlifeservice is also keeping "an eye" on the research sincethe agency advocates the use of natural pesticidemethods. the more we can encouragepeople to restore as much

as possible a naturalenvironment where mother nature keeps things in check, ratherthan using chemicals to keep pests in check, that's simplygood for all of us. and basically that's what theu.s. fish and wildlife service is concerned with isencouraging a more natural world there a lot of speciescan survive and thrive. as night begins to fall, thenocturnal owls begin to take flight in search oftheir prey. barn owls happen to be extremelywell adapted to this job.

they are attracted tonest boxes. that means you can attractthem to a farm. they don't mind each other'scompany. so that also means that youcan have a lot of them and they're not gonna fight. they tolerate human presence,and they eat a large number of rodents, and havelots of babies. so, you actually have apredator that's extremely well suited for an ipmprogram.

and i think that in the endthe result will be a greater interest in utilizing barnowls for rodent control. and various farmers aroundthe country are starting to realize that you can usethis animal to reduce the use of poisons and otherinvasive methods. as for the growers, theyfeel the use of barn owls will allow them to provide amore environmentally friendly and cost efficientproduct for the consumer. they can see that the productthey're purchasing, um,

is safer for the environment,is better for the grower because the grower is making alittle bit more money, and potentially the priceof the product that they're buying is lower. when you see an owl flyingaround at dusk starting to hunt for the night, it's oneof the neatest sights i think that i've ever had theopportunity to experience. working in these propertiesi get to see a lot of wildlife interact with ourfarming operation.

and knowing that the owl isout there taking care of one last thing that i have toworry about is a great thing. lots of feathers and fur onthe show this week. hope you enjoyed it. remember that if you wantmore information on america's heartland or justwant to see some of our programs again, just logon to our website at americasheartland.org and join us on someof your popular

social media sites as well. thanks for being with us. we'll see you next time,on america's heartland. you can purchase a dvd orblu ray copy of this program. here's the cost: to order, just visit usonline or call: ♪you can see it in the eyesof every woman and man♪

Farmers Home Furniture