(dramatic music) - Here in the Central Valley, our cowboy roots run deep, from cattle ranches to farming.

Man and horse have been partners in this cradle of agriculture for years.

Even though I grew up in the country, I've worked on farms, I've never really got the whole cowboy experience.

I've never even been to a rodeo.

And yeah, there's like bull riding, which is like crazy and looks insane to do.

But I wanna go to like, a real rodeo.

I wanna meet some real cowboys, folks who actually ride the range for a living.

Genuine 100% cowboys and cowgirls.

So what better place than my high school alma mater, Oakdale, California, the cowboy capital of the world.

And while Oakdale holds tight to its cowboy roots, the world of agriculture is evolving fast.

Cowboys, ranchers, and farmers, they're keeping up in ways you will not believe.

I'm headed over to the World Ag Expo, where agriculture meets innovation.

From high tech tractors to robotic beehives to some good old fashioned big food, we're exploring the future of ag.

It's all coming up on "Hitting The Road."

Central California definitely has its own vibe.

From the laid back latitudes of the Central Coast to the scenic wonders of the Sierra, and all the amazing people, cultures, food found in the great cities and towns of the San Joaquin Valley.

I'm on a mission to explore the festivals, the hit gems, the history, endless stories that make up this great place I love to call home.

I'm Roy Sizemore, and we're hitting the road.

(upbeat music) "Hitting The Road With Roy Sizemore" is made possible by viewers like you.

Your support fuels the adventures and incredible connections that make the Central Valley special.

Every journey we take, every story we share is thanks to you.

Become a member today to help keep the good times rolling.

Visit our website to learn more.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) If you were to paint the perfect day for a rodeo, this would be it.

Blue skies stretching for miles, just the right amount of dust kicking up on your boots in that warm Central Valley sun reminding you that you're in cowboy country.

You know how you hear people say "This ain't my first rodeo"?

Well, this is my first rodeo, so I don't really have a lot to compare it to, but I think I'm on the right track for an exciting day.

So today, I saddled up and hit the road to find out if Oakdale, California really lives up to being the self proclaimed cowboy capital of the world.

And what I found here isn't just your run of the mill rodeo.

Nope, this is the real deal, where the spurs aren't just for show, and cowboys and cowgirls are living and breathing the ranch lifestyle every single day.

Oakdale has proudly worn its cowboy crown since 1954.

And if anyone knows the ins and outs of this rodeo, it's Michelle White, the secretary and treasurer of the California SixPac Rodeo.

So today, I wanna find out if this town lives up to its legendary name.

All right, now, Oakdale is said to be the cowboy capital of the world.

Thoughts?

Hot take?

- You know what?

I actually think that's a...

I would agree with that statement, at least in California.

- So you do a lot of this stuff obviously, and you're involved in all this.

What makes you like love the rodeo stuff so much?

- It's cool to teach people like, you know, a lot of the rodeos, you get people who aren't really familiar with this culture, they come and you get to teach them about it, and a lot of people think there's harm to the animals.

Really, these animals are taken better care of than most of household pets, - So is it SixPac Rodeos because there's six of them?

Or is it because it's beer?

- Yeah, there's actually seven.

There was six I think at one point.

So basically the rodeos get together, and there's a point system, and depending on how you place at all the rodeos, you accrue points, and then there's awards at the end.

- Okay, so a ranch rodeo, what's the difference with a ranch rodeo and like the bull riding, barrel racing kind of rodeo?

- Yeah, so like the standard like PRCA pro rodeos like the Oakdale Rodeo, you have certain events which originated from kind of like ranch work, but have turned into a little bit more performance, but still showing you some of that ranch work.

This here is kind of like what you would see on an everyday working ranch.

- So this is like the real deal?

This is like the real deal, like this is what you're actually doing if you're out working on a ranch, you're not like, because you're not running up and like running around barrels and like deciding like, hey, you know what would be fun?

Let's go jump on that bull.

Like that doesn't really happen in real life?

- Correct, well, I mean known.

Yeah, you wouldn't really do that on a ranch I guess.

I think that that more came out of fun.

But what you see here- - I think think it came out of the SixPacs.

- Yeah, no no, or too many SixPacs?

- Yeah, exactly.

Maybe it was that seventh one.

- Yeah, there you go.

It was too many.

- Yeah, it was that one extra.

All right, well it looks like the only SixPac I'll be getting is some cold brew in the cooler.

But jokes aside, the SixPac Rodeo Association brings in over 200,000 fans every year.

This takes years of training and trust with the animals.

They make it look easy, but trust me, it's not.

I bet you that kid's already better at this than I'll ever be.

He's a natural.

And speaking of natural, the next cowboy isn't just a top rider, he's a horse breaker.

I know that sounds awful, but no, what that means is he trains these animals from the ground up to make them rodeo ready, to make them ranch ready.

Cody McNaney and his old buddy, Doug the horse, give us some insight on today's event.

All right, so our hot take today is Oakdale calls itself the cowboy capital of the world.

- Yes.

- Yes or no?

- Yeah, I do believe, I think there's definitely more cowboys here still than people really think.

There's definitely the orchards and stuff have kind of moved in, but there is still a lot of cattle and a lot of cowboys here, yes.

I mean the lineage of past cattlemen and even world champion cowboys that still live here or have been to like the National Finals Rodeo.

So yeah, I believe it.

- And you do a lot of these too, or no?

- Yeah, yeah, we go around, there's actually an association for this, and then there's a big finals in Winnemucca every year.

- Now is it money or buckle?

What's the prize?

What are you looking for?

- Man, it just kind of depends on the rodeo.

You'll get a buckle most of the time if you win, but you definitely get some prize money as well with it.

We run some cows and we raise some horses and we do a little bit of everything.

I train horses primarily.

It's kind of what our business is.

- [Roy] So when you train them to do like this kind of stuff?

- Yep.

- And barrel racing?

- Barrels are kind of whatever.

I start a lot of horses so kind of from the ground, like I put the first handful of rides on them to where they're easy for somebody else to go ahead and take home and ride themselves.

- Wow, so you're like a real cowboy cowboy?

- I suppose, yeah.

(Roy laughs) - I tell you, you don't meet a lot of real cowboy cowboys anymore.

- I appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - As the day went on, I started thinking, "Man, I probably should have put on some sunscreen."

But I was also surprised to learn that Oakdale had a bit of controversy surrounding its claim to being the cowboy capital of the world.

Other towns like Bandera and Stephenville, Texas also claim the same title, claiming they had more rodeo world champions than anywhere else.

So yeah, it was a bit of a cowboy showdown.

This whole thing got way serious back in 2000.

Oakdale actually sued Bandera, Texas over the name.

In the end, the lawsuit didn't officially settle who got the title, but if you ask folks here in Oakdale, there's no question, they earned it.

Your name's Cowboy?

- Yes sir.

- Your parents named you Cowboy?

- Legally.

- Legally!

I'm gonna name my kid Astronaut.

(laughs) I mean it's kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, right?

Now you all are real cattle people.

What's your day like, man?

Take me through a day, Cody.

- Well, we generally saddle horses before daylight, and then we trailer where we're going.

We work, me and this guy, work for Five Dot Land and Cattle in Susanville, California.

And we just trailer out to where we need to go, and the ranch is about a hundred miles long and- - Dang!

- And we trailer out to where we need to go and then we make us a circle and gather cows.

And we'd take care, me and this guy take care of about 3,000 cows with other guys that are part of our crew.

- So you're moving them to like different places to eat or to graze?

So you try to keep them moving?

- Yes sir.

- We got different permits on different mountains.

- [Roy] You guys worry about rattlesnakes and crap like that or no?

- No, see a bear once in a while.

- Mountain lion?

- Mountain lions?

Yeah, I'll be a little more scared of the mountain lions than the snakes to be honest with you.

So like if a cow gets sick and you're out on the trail, are you the vet?

- Yeah, we pretty much are doing exactly what these guys are doing behind us here.

Just doctoring cattle.

But the only difference is is we're not giving them medication today, out on the ranch, we give meds and stuff.

- So you gotta have that all packed up with you and?

- You know, you know when you're going out to doctor cattle, I mean, you know when you got some sick cattle somewhere so you grab your medicine bags and you go make a circle and go get you some cattle doctor.

- Wow.

I never knew so much went into working on a ranch.

And here I thought I was just wearing a cool hat and looking cool on a horse.

But these guys really are taking care of these animals.

Now, we were all set to high tail it out of there when they told me after a long day of ranching they couldn't even watch our show.

All right, so you guys, wait a minute, you're not gonna be able to see this because you don't have television?

- Yeah, I mean not unless you like somehow send us the link and we can try to get on our phones, you know?

- [Roy] Right, so do you have internet?

- No, there's no wifi.

We just kind of have the service that's around really.

- Do you play banjos and fiddles?

What are you doing all day?

- I play the guitar.

- You play guitar?

- Yeah.

- [Roy] So you got like mean Monopoly sessions?

What are you guys doing?

- Yeah, we just play cards most of the time.

- Play spoons?

- Yeah, he plays the spoons.

- I play the spoons.

This guy plays the drums.

- I got drums.

- Okay.

Get a jug, someone blow into a jug.

- It's a wild deal.

It's the wild west out there, man.

- Well there you heard it.

These guys have very little time for lollygagging out on the range.

I really had no idea what to expect coming to my first rodeo, but Oakdale did not disappoint.

This place is the real deal.

The energy, the people celebrating the history and traditions going back generations upon generations.

It's all here.

Saw some pretty cool events, met some really legit cowboys, and even got to learn what it takes to train these animals.

And let me tell you, rodeo isn't just a sport for the people of Oakdale, it's a whole way of life.

I truly have a whole new respect for how much skill and heart goes into this.

So next up, we're headed to the World Ag Expo to see the latest tech shaping the future of ag.

Who knows, maybe we're one step away from cowboy robots.

(gentle music) Ah, beautiful Tulare, California.

Farms, cows.

The largest agricultural trade show in the world, with more than 1,200 exhibitors on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space.

Wait, what?

Yeah, that's right.

Good old Tulare is home to the World Ag Expo, taking place every year in February at the International Agri-Center.

The show offers a wide range of ag-related exhibits and seminars.

100,000 people from 70 different countries all convened right here to check out what's in store for the future of ag, which is actually what I'm doing here today.

Well actually, don't tell the crew, the first order of business is to find some grub.

Come on, man.

The biggest ag expo has got to have some of the biggest food there is.

Biggest food, biggest food, big food.

What the heck is that?

I'm here with Melissa.

We're just cruising around, looking for stuff to see at the ag show.

I thought this was a rock climbing wall, and it's potato.

- [Melissa] We bring you a better time than a rock climbing wall because who doesn't like Idaho potatoes?

- [Roy] Everyone likes Idaho potatoes.

- [Melissa] We're a 72 foot oversized vehicle, so we have to be permitted everywhere we go.

- That sounds like fun.

- We brought it down from Boise for you guys, and we're gonna launch our 10th anniversary tour at the end of February.

- And what's in the potato?

- So, well, it's loaded with vitamin C and potassium and yeah.

- Sour cream, chives.

- Maybe some bacon bits.

- That's right.

- And are you driving this bad boy?

- I am.

- That's so cool.

- I am Spud Racer.

- Spud Racer?

We're gonna free the potato.

Free the potato, let it live.

Potato, no to potato cruelty.

Are you organic?

All right, that might have been a bit too much potato for me.

Honestly, I'm a little tatered out.

I need some meat.

Cooking up over here is some of the most delicious looking fire-grilled juicy meats I think I've ever seen.

(upbeat music) I'm gonna put a pin in that though because right now, I'm kind of feeling like fair vibes, and I know exactly what I want for breakfast.

All right, so it's February.

Big Fresno fair ain't even hitting till October.

But look what we got, fair food, my friends.

Corn dogs, garlic fries, deep fried Oreos.

So we got everything at the World Ag Expo.

I think it's monster dog time.

The bigger the dog, the better the dog.

That's what they say.

Finally got my corn dog, and hi, what are you guys eating today?

- Chicken.

- This is a corn dog, not a microphone.

- Okay.

(Roy laughing) All right, now that I've eaten my weight in corn dog, I think it's time to check out what I'm really here for.

The World Ag Expo proper is basically a giant tech showcase to show off the newest and sometimes weirdest agricultural tech.

From farming to cows, you name it, it's here.

So I'm headed over to the show building.

Free from the outdoor elements, companies could show off as elaborate and complex tech as they want.

In here is where I'm gonna find the coolest showcases at the expo.

Tyler, okay, I was told, this is Tyler with Cainthus?

- That's correct, yes.

- Someone said, okay, we're talking tech.

Today, this is like what we're kind of going around talking about high tech ag stuff.

I'm still using Windows 7, man.

Like you guys are like other level.

Someone said you got like facial recognition technology for cows?

- That's correct.

Sort of, yes.

- Okay, explain, yeah.

- So we're using computer vision and artificial intelligence to monitor the cows, the feeding operations, the animal behavior.

So what we're actually doing is mounting this camera up in the top of the free stall barn.

So in the barns where the cows sleep and eat and drink.

And this camera's taking a picture every minute of the day.

And so it takes a picture that you and I would recognize of cows and feed and then it sends it over to a little processing box inside the barn.

And that image that we recognize gets turned into data.

There's a cellular router in there, and it sends it up to the cloud.

And then the dairy owner- - You never think dairy cloud technology.

And now he can go through?

- Anywhere in the world, if their nutritionist happens to be working in South America, they can call up, look in real time, and see what's going on on the dairy 24/7.

- [Roy] So you can see this section of cows are drinking this much water, eating this much, sleeping this much, process all that data, go through I guess to optimize.

- There are such big investments on the dairies now, you can't afford to be inefficient, so you've got to have technology that can help you.

And our grandparents would've used their eyes to keep track of all the cows.

These dairies are too big.

You can't do it, gotta have help.

So that's where we come in and help monitor the cows.

- Awesome.

So I'm sure you at home have heard the term "Save the bees," right?

Well in case you haven't seen the cinematic masterpiece that is Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie," Here's a quick rundown of what bees do.

Basically, bees are pollinators, which means that when they go from flower to flower to collect nectar to make honey, they're getting a bunch of that flower pollen all over their little furs.

So when they go to another flower, they're spreading this pollen to other plants and fertilizing them.

Bees are responsible for pollinating 70% of the total crops we eat and 80% of the flowers in the world.

Already in the last 75 years, the total bee population has decreased by over half.

So basically, if bees go bye bye, so do we.

I'm here with Elijah with Beewise.

Asked around, I'm like, "What's up with the bee thing?"

And they're like, "Oh, you gotta go talk to that guy."

And my best friend is a bee guy, and lot's been going on obviously with bees, with bee die off.

But this is a hive?

Tell me what's going on.

- So basically our mission is to save the bees, and we're trying to do this using precision robotics and AI, artificial intelligence.

So we're taking all the capabilities of modern technology and trying to utilize that to save the bees.

So what you're looking at here is called a bee home, and it's actually a device.

It's also a new hive.

It actually contains up to 48 colonies.

But it's also a beekeeping tool.

So there's a platform that comes with it, a software platform, a dashboard where the beekeeper can go in and get notified about what's happening in the hives, make data-driven decisions, and actually react to what's happening in the hives in real time.

- I'm really impressed, Elijah, thank you man.

I appreciate it.

okay, earlier I said I wanted to find some of the coolest and weirdest tech, and that was definitely cool.

I mean, that's awesome.

So that means it's time to get weird.

Here with Rosemary, and what do you got here?

It looks like fish powder, coconut powder.

Is this for people to eat?

Aloe powder.

Is this for tea, or is this for dirt?

I'm intrigued.

- Yeah, definitely.

Actually, either way.

So the coconut water powder we get from a source that makes for human consumption.

So you could drink it, but we're primarily targeting plants.

- Oh, this is a plant food?

- Plant food.

Liquid plant food, dry plant food, amendments, and soil.

- And I see like crab and shrimp also.

This is all organic stuff?

- [Rosemary] Yes, it is.

- And no bad things going into the ground?

- Correct.

- Awesome.

I'm all about that.

What are worm castings, castings, castings?

- Castings, yep.

Worm poop.

Super great for plants.

I can't say that?

- No, you can say that.

I just wanna make sure, you're selling bags of worm poop.

- Absolutely.

It's good stuff.

- I'm in the wrong business, man.

I have a yard full of nightcrawlers.

All right, some quick Roy facts for you.

Worm castings are like dirt super fertilizer.

They're a natural and effective soil amendment and offer numerous benefits to plant and soil health.

Including improved nutrient availability, enhanced soil structure, and increased water retention.

Who would've thought?

All right, that show building stuff was seriously cool.

I feel like an official worm poop aficionado, which honestly is a badge I wear with the highest of honors.

It's amazing to hear about all these innovations and how they're helping farmers.

But man, what I actually want to see is some of these things in the field.

Well thankfully, the World Ag Expo isn't just a big old building and potato cars.

It's a 2.6 million square foot extravaganza.

So just a quick walk away from the show building and I'm surrounded by all these really cool gadgets and gizmos, doing this and that, doing their job, doing their thing.

They even got a celebrity guest appearance.

Have you guys ever seen "Terminator"?

So GUSS, when is the whole Skynet takeover?

Beep boop beep, I love human, boo boo beep.

I don't buy it, GUSS.

This is how it starts, people.

This is how it starts.

He seemed friendly, yeah, friendly.

But what's he actually doing here, hmm?

Seems like human servant, I mean his buddy, was granted permission to tell me what's up.

All right, here with Gary, this is amazing with GUSS Automation.

Does that stand for something?

- [Gary] Yeah, GUSS stands for Global Unmanned Spray System.

- Okay, because this is basically, it's actually a little scary because this is, you ever see "Terminator"?

- I have.

- This is how it gets started.

Like if GUSS hooks up with Alexa, we're all doomed.

The planet's gone, we're wiped out.

So this is like basically AI, unmanned spray rigs?

- Yeah.

So it's completely driverless.

So unmanned, it just goes out into orchards and vineyards, sprays the trees with the products that they need.

And really what we did is we just developed the technology to where it doesn't have to have a tractor driver on it.

Just dealing with the labor shortages that we're having in ag and in our own spray business that we have.

- Right, and this can be a 24/7 thing too, right?

You can just wake up to put some gas in and restock and you're good to go.

- That's correct.

We run 24 hours a day whenever we can.

- [Roy] Now if you guys hear that honking, that's when it gets to the end of the row, right?

- That's correct.

- So that's like a warning, like hey, get out of my way, I'm spraying.

- Safety feature.

So anybody that's driving down the avenue, it'll alert them before it exits the row.

- So when you think of agricultural technology, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Drones, automated harvesters, fully automated robotic cabbages with laser eyes?

Pew pew!

Okay, maybe last one's just me, but to most, it's probably the most iconic ag machine ever, the tractor.

As a kid, my uncle had this ancient tractor, metal seat.

Safety features?

No.

Later, I actually got a little blue Ford one with the actual cushions.

So you know, I know my way around a tractor, but clearly these ones aren't your uncle's tractors.

I have to do whatever it takes, beg, bribe, whatever I have to do.

But I have got to get into one of those.

Ash from Fendt, I was told to come find you.

Why?

What's the deal?

- A farmer's in the field all day long, sometimes 14 or 18 hours a day.

- [Roy] Yeah, definitely, definitely.

- [Ash] They wanna be comfortable doing it.

So technology like GPS and auto guide and aid ed management, heated seats, and things like that.

Oh yeah, yep.

- I don't even have that in my car.

That's not fair.

That's not right.

- They're so high tech, yet so simple to use, even you could drive it.

- I could drive it?

- I think you could.

- Can I really drive it?

- Sure, why not?

- All right, I'm down.

Let's do this.

I'm on it.

Okay, so it turns out all you have to do is ask, wait your turn, and you could take one of these for a test spin.

Howdy.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

- Oh, you bet.

- I'm Roy.

- Roy, I'm Lewis.

- Lewis.

All right, Lewis.

- So go ahead and just tip the joystick forward again.

- Okay.

Ah, here we go.

Whoa, the steering is so easy.

This is a tractor.

This does not feel like a tractor, man.

This feels like a car.

All right, go around this side here?

So you steer with this, but your throttle is all here?

- Right.

- Once I go, I don't even have to keep my hand on the joystick.

- It's gonna remember where to stop.

It'll hold your position, and it'll just keep going at that speed.

- Man, I am so excited.

I feel like Jeff Gordon except, well, it's not a race car, it's a big giant tractor, and it's not a race track, it's a dirt field, but still.

And you could probably monitor if your son is out here on the tractor, how fast he's going.

- You can see it all from home.

- You can pull up, that's what I was saying.

So you can be at home (indistinct) Hey, you're supposed to be out there tilling the back 40.

I am, like, no, you're not.

- You're at your girlfriend's.

- Exactly, with my tractor.

Where is the wine chiller?

I know it's in here.

- The wine chiller's actually right here.

- [Roy] Yeah, there it is.

There's the wine cooler.

- [Lewis] Got a cool box in it.

- This is so much better than...

This is farming.

I could do this kind of farming.

How would you go back to farming an old tractor after riding around?

- Really, really hard.

It'd be like going back to manual steering in your car.

- Side note, be careful on the dismount.

These things are a lot higher, and the ground is a lot softer than you think.

All righty.

Oops, dropped my glasses.

That was awesome.

Thank you, man.

Appreciate it.

- No worries.

- Lost my glasses.

(upbeat music) So many surprises.

Ag tech has really come so far since I was a kid.

Honestly, you need like two days or so to really check out everything here.

I've barely scratched the surface today, and it's just, it's just cool to see how many people are so passionate about ag and its future, not only here in the valley, but worldwide.

Anyway, February, Tulare, you know where to come.

Check it out.

It's amazing.

That's a wrap.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) "Hitting the Road With Roy Sizemore" is made possible by viewers like you.

Your support fuels the adventures and incredible connections that make the Central Valley special.

Every journey we take, every story we share is thanks to you.

Become a member today to help keep the good times rolling.

Visit our website to learn more.

Thank you.