For Immediate Release
Oysters, Texas Wine, Horseradish, and California Lemonsare
Featured on This Week’s Episode of America’s Heartland
Sacramento, CA, October22, 2008: America’s Heartland, the nationally-broadcast,half-hour weekly magazine program produced by KVIE Public Television in Sacramento, will continue its fourth seasonwith a new episode on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 7:30pm.Thisaward-winning program, hosted by Paul Ryan, celebrates American agriculture and features stories about the men and women who provide food, fuel, and fiber to our nation and the world. Locally televised on KVIE’s channel 6 and KVIE-TV 6.1, America’s Heartland airs on PBS stations across the country, as well as RFD-TV, a cable and satellite channel focusing on rural life. Additionally, each episode streams online at
America’s Heartland episode 407 will feature the following stories:
Florida Oyster Harvest
America’s Heartland might as be called America’s “Heartwater” as we take to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico where oysterman are pulling succulent seafood from the sandy bottoms. We join a long time oysterman in search of the oysters that help supply restaurants and stores throughout the southeast. He shares the techniques that have been supporting his family’slivelihood for generations.
Texas Wine
California might be among the most well known states for wineries in the country, but the oldest winery in America, which dates back to early Spanish Missionaries, is located in the LoneStarState. Texas is home to a growing wine-making industry that has seen a growth from 24,000 gallons in 1981 to over 2 million gallons in 2005. The number of vineyards and vintners continue to grow across the state, as do the number of international awards the product brings home.
Collinsville, Illinois Horseradish Festival
It’s a special root that grows in the soil of the Illinois farm community. The area around Collinsville, Illinois is home to growers who turn out 80% of the world’s horseradish. And locals show up in droves each year for a special festival to celebrate horseradish in all its culinary forms.
California Lemon Growers
With a climate very similar to that of southern Italy, Vice President of Limoneira, Alex Teague, said that the founders of his family owned citrus company thought that the area in Santa Paula, CA would be perfect for growing lemons - as they do in Sicily. With a costal climate, Limoneira and other groveslocated in VenturaCountyare able to harvest the bountifully grown fruit year-round, thus producing half of California’s lemon crop alone. We learn about the history of the crop and grove, including that it was a popular stop for Hollywood movie makers, and what makes a good choice when it comes to picking lemons.
The Monsanto Company and the American Farm Bureau Federation make presentation of America's Heartland possible. Additional production and promotion assistance is provided by the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, United Soybean Board, U.S. Grains Council, National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National FFA Organization. For more information about America’s Heartland episodes, visit
About KVIE
KVIE Public Television, located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, inspires audiences and enriches their lives through engaging programs and educational services. Established in 1959, KVIE serves more than 1.3 million households in the nation’s 20th largest television market. With one of the largest geographic signals in the country, KVIE can be viewed in 28 counties through its analog signal, more than 60 cable systems and satellite providers, and in high-definition on KVIE-DT. KVIE actively creates original local programming and is one of the leading producers of publictelevision programming in the country. For more information, visit KVIE’s Web site at
KVIE Public Television Media Contact:
Sheryl Brown
Marketing Communications Manager
Phone: (916)641-3535
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Steven Frith
Public Relations Intern
Phone: (916) 641-3510
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