Vintage Video - On the Farm

Ostriches, bees, potatoes, and sunflowers aren't the normal livestock or crops we see in the Midwest - but they were among the topics I covered while serving as the agricultural reporter for KELO and WISC.

My experience with the ostriches was interesting.  While shooting the video the eight-foot birds became intrigued by the camera.  One bird in particular used his beak to grab the lens cover.  When he got tired of that, attention was turned to my ear on the other side.

The bee stories were done in different years, but other than one keeper protecting his head with a hat and netting neither wore any special gear.  I didn't wear any either.  What really got me about the hives was the sound of thousands of honeybees buzzing.

A couple stories illustrate how little things changed for beef producers and dairy farmers over the last 30 years; then we close with a look at the timeless ritual of the harvest on the farm.