A Shot of AG
What It Takes to Grow Popcorn
Clip: Season 6 Episode 38 | 1m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Brad Forkner explains the surprisingly complex business behind growing and processing popcorn.
Brad Forkner recalls managing popcorn production, from finding growers and estimating harvests to deciding which processing plant each crop would reach. He explains the different equipment used to clean and sort popcorn and dry beans, along with some of the challenges that came with harvesting crops in sandy western Nebraska fields.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
A Shot of AG is a local public television program presented by WTVP
A Shot of AG
What It Takes to Grow Popcorn
Clip: Season 6 Episode 38 | 1m 2sVideo has Closed Captions
Brad Forkner recalls managing popcorn production, from finding growers and estimating harvests to deciding which processing plant each crop would reach. He explains the different equipment used to clean and sort popcorn and dry beans, along with some of the challenges that came with harvesting crops in sandy western Nebraska fields.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- Okay, so you're selling popcorn.
Like, are you selling... I dunno.
What do you mean?
You're not selling, like, bag popcorn.
Outta the field?
- I was getting the people to grow it.
I monitored it.
I told 'em what to expect for harvest tonnage.
I decided which plant was gonna go to.
The white went here.
The large kernel went here.
The pre-popped stuff that was going to California went out to Western Nebraska.
In the off season, I actually ran in and run the plant, so I learned how to run destoners, how to run gravity tables, how to run polishers, how to run the different screens because we also had dry edible beans.
And if you go in there at the right time, you'd catch enough dry edible beans for the whole winter, just bag them off on the side for yourself.
- Back then, though, that popcorn, that plant didn't stand up very well.
- It did not.
And in Western Nebraska- - Did you have to convince- - it would fall down, and when you had the header down there, you picked up a lotta sand; thus the destoner.
- Oh, okay, yeah.
How a Chemistry Hater Built a Career in Crop Nutrition
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S6 Ep38 | 1m | Brad Forkner explains how the chemistry he once disliked became the basis of his career. (1m)
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S6 Ep38 | 1m 31s | Brad Forkner brings aronia juice to the studio and Rob Sharkey gives it a memorable taste. (1m 31s)
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