America's Heartland is made possible by.... >>Farm Credit , owned by America's farmers and ranchers.

Celebrating 95 years of service to U.S. agriculture and rural America.

Learn more at farmcredit.com.

The United Soybean Board , America's soybean farmers and their checkoff.

And by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture dedicated to building greater awareness and understanding of agriculture through education and engagement.

>>Ninety two million cows on American ranches!

A 75 billion dollar industry!

And Americans eat more than 25 billion pounds of beef each year!

Meet the hard-working ranchers who make it all happen.

It's a special All-ranching edition of America's Heartland coming up next!

♪ You can see it in the eyes of every woman and man ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland living close to the land.

♪ ♪ There's a love for the country ♪ ♪ and a pride in the brand ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland living close, ♪ ♪ close to the land.

♪ >>Hi, I'm Jason Shoultz.

And thanks for joining us for this special all-ranching edition of America's Heartland.

Modern day cowboys have a lot of different ways to round up those cattle, everything from AT Vs to horseback to even helicopter.

But the idea is still the same that has been for generations.

Round them up and head them out, and in a moment, we'll introduce you to the Mahon family here in Northern California and hear their family ranching history.

But first I want to take you on an old fashioned cattle drive in the mountains of Utah where the terrain was rough, and we had to be ready.

The Heaton family needs to get these 200 mama cows and calves to grazing pastures for the summer.

It's a 30 mile journey that begins just outside the tiny town of Alton, Utah in a place called Rush Meadow .

The trek will take the cattle over a mountain range and through the expansive pastures of the Dixie National Forest .

It's no small task.

To get them there, they call in family members from around the region and invite guests who pay money, big money, and turn a cattle drive into a vacation.

It's a safe bet to say at this hour, the guests have little idea what's in store.

And frankly, neither do we.

>>Alright, let's do this.

>>Leading this drive is Dustin Cox, not a Heaton by birth but married to Harmony Heaton.

Harmony, along with their four girls....

>>....There you go....

>>....Yes, all four are on horseback for this journey.

>>Ready?

1, 2, 3!

>>The family members that are here to help are not full time ranchers, but young and old, they saddle up to pitch in.

>>How are you Angela?

>>Good.

>>Do you want his stuff?

>>And it doesn't take long for their help to be critical to the effort.

The first stretch of this journey is the toughest: straight up the side of a mountain!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>This is pretty steep, but the cattle seem to be doing just fine.

We'll see how we do.

>>Within minutes it feels like controlled chaos, barely controlled chaos!

The problem is they go down in the woods and get off the trail.

So you have to get off your horse and go down there and get them.

It's nearly a 2000 foot climb.

The dust, the noise, the brush and trees?

It's enough to rattle the sturdiest of cowboy nerves.

And for the city slicker, guests who are along for the ride, it's a heck of way to learn by doing.

We reach a clearing almost at the top of the mountain.

The view of the valley below is simply breathtaking.

But there is way too much going on to get lost in the moment.

It's a long way down.

After another climb, we find a perfect clearing for resting.

>>It's been an amazing experience.

Today's been a little full-on.

Lots of excitement, anticipation....

Cows kind of going everywhere, people everywhere!

>>Isn't that wild?

>>Yeah!

It's definitely been a full-throttle experience, I would say.

>>We'll check back on the cattle drive later in the show.

>>Spend any time with a rancher, and you'll quickly discover it's a lifestyle that they love.

And that includes protecting the environment.

For Bud Adams, that means keeping his Florida ranch in pristine condition for future generations.

♪ ♪ >>It's sun up and saddle up on this early spring morning.

The cowboys of Adams Ranch are ready for another roundup.

>>Mornin'!

>>These are Florida cowboys.

No vast open plains of the American West here!

This range is dotted with palm trees, swampy ponds, and thickets of grasses and trees.

And here at Adam's Ranch near Ft. Pierce, the wildlife and the 50-thousand acres of preserved landscape make for a picture-perfect scene, a scene not lost on the ranch's owner, Bud Adams.

Visit the ranch, and you'll likely find him with a camera in his hand.

>>I'm out here checking on the cattle to see that they have water, grass and mineral.

Invariably, you see a lot of interesting things.

I was given an Argus 35 mm camera in 1936, I think.

>>A few years ago.... >>That's a long time!

>>Over the decades, Bud's captured hundreds of images of life on the ranch.

>>Well, I started working here at ten years old.

So this is the 72nd year I've worked here.

Back in those days, we had cross-state cattle drives.

And we would have a bed roll and sleep on the ground.

It was a hard life, but it was a good life.

>>His father bought this land in 1937.

Ten years later, they had 16-hundred head of cattle.

Now?

It's 10-thousand.

And throughout the years, Bud Adams has been there to create a visual record first on film and now with his digital camera.

Bud's photos have ended up in books and various publications.

>>Although you are a photographer, and you are pretty good at it, you see yourself as a cattle rancher, right?

>>That's what I do: I raise cattle.

I'm a cow man.

>>That's your passion?

>>Oh yeah!

>>That passion carries onto the next generation of Adams family.

Bud's sons manage various areas of the ranching operation.

>>And these boys?

They start when they are 10 or 11 years old.

Now they are in their mid 20's.

Why they are as good as anybody.

>>You said these boys?

I think I might have seen a girl out there, too!

>>Yes, Yes!

We are equal opportunity.

>>Bud points out that the beautiful ecology here is no accident.

It's a balance of nature that has been managed by his family for decades.

>>I'm sure you've had developers knocking on your door here to put some homes here.

>>That is a tremendous problem.

With higher land values and a growing population?

It will be very difficult to pass this on to the next generation.

>>What Bud captures through his lens are more than pretty pictures.

He's documenting a way of life and a heritage that has roots deeper than the palm trees that grow on this sandy soil.

>>We understand that this is a holistic enterprise.

We have to consider the grass, the trees, the cattle, the wildlife, the water, and our climate.

The important part of this is your animal agriculture provides a sustainable program.

>>From swampy grasslands to majestic mountains, you'll find ranching all across this great country.

And the majestic beauty of the Teton Mountain Range in Idaho is on display as reporter Rob Stewart introduces us to the Bagley family.

>>Some six thousand feet above sea level, the Teton Mountain Ranch is close to the sounds of nature in the scenery of this majestic valley.

>>And you've had people from all over the world: from India, from Europe, everywhere!

>>Everywhere!

We have almost every place in the world.

>>Kent and Pauline Bagley are farmers here in eastern Idaho.

And while the family has been working this land for decades, the wildness of the region is still evident today.

>>We gotta watch out for the bears and the elk and the wild that might jump out of the trees.

But these horses do pretty good.

>>Crops and cattle have long been a part of this farming operation.

But the family decided to diversify, adding saddleback vacations for visitors and expanding their livestock herds to include Bison and Elk.

>>It's really tough to farm and ranch in Teton Valley because of the winters.

And we figured we can bring in the elk.

And we are looking at the recreation, looking into the trail rides and pack trips.

And we figured that this would be a way we can share this with people.

>>They seem to be very curious animals.

>>They're very curious.

They probably like your blue shirt.

They'll come and investigate.

They're wonderful watchdogs.

Anything that comes onto the place that is different?

We know it because we can tell by the way they act.

>>But these animals are more than just something to see.

Wild game consumption in the U.S. and abroad provides a ready market for the lean meat of animals like the elk.

♪ ♪ >>Well, it's going to be a nice day for us today.

>>The herds of bison, elk and cattle along with the natural beauty of the region have provided a significant draw to city dwellers looking to have a different kind of vacation experience.

>>It was amazing.

We couldn't believe it when we got to the very top.

And then we went to our second location, and we saw how far we have traveled.

It was mind-blowing to know that we did that much on our horse.

>>It's great to get away from the rough, fast lifestyle with the city.

When you just come out here, you know?

You can go like four hours by, and it feels like it's been 20 minutes.

You know, you don't waste your time.

You just take your time and slow down.

>>Continuing an agricultural tradition is important to this multi generational farm family, making a difference in the lives of their visitors and in protecting the land they've been given.

>>We want it to be taken care of.

We take joy in seeing it looking good.

We love it.

It's our life.

>>Well, we are back out here at Mahon Ranch in Northern California.

And joining me now is Jack Mahon.

And boy, you guys have been hard at work already this morning, haven't you?

>>Yeah, started pretty early.

>>Tell me, what are you guys doing today?

>>We're just moving our cows off the winter pasture down to our irrigated pasture in the low lands farther.

>>Get's a little dry out here in the summertime.

So you need some food for these mamas and their calves.

>>Basically, the calves need to grow.

>>So you gotta get the calves off of this land, and then you will head them back to your place.

You guys have been on this land for how long?

>>One hundred twenty nine years on the home ranch!

>>That's a little while.

>>Yeah!

>>That's a legacy isn't it?

>>Some days!

>>Some days, not so much?

>>No, it is!

It's great.

>>For folks that live in the city that may not come in contact with you or any rancher, tell me about that passion that ranchers have to have.

>>It's something you are kind of born with, I think.

Even if you are born in the city?

I've known cow men that were born in the city.

And I've known guys that weren't cow men that were born in the country.

>>Nothing else out there you would rather be doing?

>>Not a thing!

No, I've done other things in the military and what not, and never seen anything like this.

Always have loved the cows ever since I was big enough to walk.

>>Tell me, your great granddad?

What would he think if he were standing out here now and saw the fact that it's still in the same family, you guys are still workin' it, still doing the same thing?

>>I would hope he'd be happy about it.

I never knew the man.

He passed away before I was born.

But I think they are looking down and know that things are going on long with our father who passed about five years ago.

And it's just what we're doing.

>>Gotta keep on keepin' on, right?

>>That's all!

>>There's no doubt that ranching is hard work.

But don't be fooled!

It's not just men on horseback across this great nation.

There's lot of cowgirls out there, too.

Cowgirls like Jen Johnson in Eastern Colorado, an inspiring young woman back from college and grabbing the reins!

♪ ♪ >>So we are just going along this fence.

>>Yeah, there's 193 of them.

>>The Call of the West made famous on page and screen!

For some, the lure of ranch life is as strong today as it was when settlers crossed the plains.

For the Johnson family of southeast Colorado, it's a desire to return to the land.

Meet Jen Johnson, and her brothers Will, Myles and Charlie.

On any given day, you might find them rounding up cattle on their family's 20-thousand acre ranch.

They do it the same way their ancestors did more than 100 years ago on this same ground.

>>I think this is a really special place.

And for me, you know?

It's just five generations of history.

You know, this is what my childhood is all about.

>>Hers may not be the first image that comes to mind when you think of rough-n-ready ranching, but the reins fit just as snugly in her hands as they do her younger brothers.

>>I'm not in a family where women have been delegated to the kitchen and making sure that when all the boys come in for lunch?

There's a hot meal, you know?

I've been one of the boys.

And that's always the way it's been in my family.

And I'm very lucky to have been in an environment like that.

>>Her work on the ranch today comes in between receiving a degree from Princeton and grad school.

It might not make sense to some, the idea of returning to a place where the neighbor's house isn't even on the horizon, and the closest gourmet coffee shop is 63 miles away.

>>There are a lot of things you can do with an Ivy League education, right?

>>There are!

I have friends all over the world doing fascinating things, important things.

But honestly, I don't think there's anything more important that I could do than to use, you know, what I've been blessed with as a background (as well as my education and experience) than to be part of agriculture and to be part of ranching.

>>Jen's commitment to agriculture also brings a new and slightly unorthodox approach.

She's developing innovative land conservation and management programs with The Nature Conservancy , an environmental group that hasn't always been looked at favorably in the agriculture community.

>>My family, for 100 years, has been stewarding this land.

And it's, you know?

Our livelihood literally depends on the health of this land and how well we take care of it.

Can The Nature Conservancy teach ranchers something?

I think, absolutely!

Can ranchers teach The Nature Conservancy as well as the conservation community at large, something?

Absolutely!

>>Her latest project?

A program that pairs up young ranchers with innovative established ranchers to help get their start.

Jen's father admits he was skeptical when he first learned about his daughter's plans with The Nature Conservancy.

But in time, he changed his views.

>>They want to conserve this open space, and that's what we want to do.

You know, to make room for the future generations?

If there are some tax credits we can use to do it, that just helps us do what we want to do.

>>And the future generations here all intend to make ranching part of their lives.

Jen's brother Will is back for the summer after getting his degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

>>It was quite the change coming from population 250, Kit Carson to the middle of Philadelphia.

>>So I imagine a little bit of a culture shock for you there.

>>Yeah, it was good time.

Took a little getting used to.

>>Probably made some friends who weren't ranchers I imagine, right?

>>Yeah, no I looked for them.

But in a school of 10,000?

Honest to God, never found one that was really a rancher.

>>Get this one!

>>Will intends to return after his career in the marines.

>>You know, all of you?

I guess at some point, we'll probably be back involved with this ranch again in a larger sense.

What do you think it's gonna look like out here?

>>I'm pretty hopeful.

I think we're getting some angles to come at agriculture that's not, you know?

They're typical ag school stuff.

And so I think I don't want to sound too boastful and stuff.

But I expect big things from us.

>>A couple of ivy leaguers bringing fresh ideas, and a healthy respect for history, back to the ranch.

>>I think somebody's gonna win.

Somebody's gonna be able to do this.

And I think they'll have as good a chance as any kids to do it.

>>I'm very proud to use my ivy league education for this.

I couldn't think of a better use for it.

>>Here at the Mahon Ranch in Northern California, the cowboys are getting these calves loaded up to take them to some fresh pasture ground.

Meanwhile on that Utah cattle drive, the guests that are along for the ride are getting a little concerned, concerned that they are not going to see this thing through, and they will run out of time.

Let's check in.

>>If the dudes want to see it through, we're going to need to get an early start.

So Karl makes the call.

He decides that we'll get started an hour earlier tomorrow.

So it's early to bed and even earlier to rise the next morning.

>>Cowboy coffee!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>Well, it's day three, the last day.

I think everybody is a little sore, maybe a little tired too.

But we got eight more miles to go.

So it's time to saddle up and head out.

Let's go Hershey, come on!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>I noticed you kinda peeled back from.... What are you thinking about?

You know, you're reflecting on the past few days.

What's going through your mind?

>>I'm really just trying to savor the last few minutes and just trying to make the most of it while I have it left.

I'm amazed at how rugged and tough these people are.

They wake up early.

They drive the cattle all day, 13 miles!

Set up camp, keep on going, and they do that everyday.

And I?

My hat's off to 'em, literally.

I couldn't do it.

>>Talk about seeing all different types of terrain?

First day, we went up the side of that mountain.

Pretty rough!

Yesterday was beautiful sprawling meadows.

And today is the long, dusty road home.

♪ ♪ >>What memories are you guys gonna take home from this?

>>For me?

Definitely two main things!

And both related to family.

And that's family and friends that we've developed, the five that (what do we call ourselves, the Fa....) Fabulous Five?

>>The Fabulous Five!

>>We got five guests here in this program.

And we've become very tight, and we'll stay in contact with each other in the future.

And then the other is true family.

And that's watching these families raise their children in an all American atmosphere that just somebody has to watch to believe.

>>Our 1 O' Clock deadline has come and gone.

But the cattle are almost there.

And nobody is calling it quits.

♪ ♪ >>These cowboys come-lately ensure that their herd makes it to the pasture.

It's a rewarding end to a challenging 3-day journey.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ >>Well, that will do it for this special edition of America's Heartland .

Thanks for joining us.

And don't forget, you can find out much more at our website americasheartland.org including video from all of our shows.

And stay in touch with us 24-7 through many of your favorite sites as well.

We'll see you next time.

♪ You can see it in the eyes of every woman and man ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland living close to the land.

♪ ♪ There's a love for the country ♪ ♪ and a pride in the brand ♪ ♪ in America's Heartland living close, ♪ ♪ close to the land.

♪ >>America's Heartland is made possible by....

The United Soybean Board , America's soybean farmers and their checkoff.

Farm Credit , owned by America's farmers and ranchers.

Celebrating 95 years of service to U.S. agriculture and rural America.

Learn more at farmcredit.com.

And by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture dedicated to building greater awareness and understanding of agriculture through education and engagement.

♪ ♪