Photo by Rachael Kamuf

Coproducers Matt Hilton and Bob Shrader filmed at historic Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto for an upcoming segment of Kentucky Farm Bureau’s "Bluegrass and Backroads" television series.

   Kentucky Farm Bureau’s TV staff has explored almost every corner of the state to bring the attention of a national audience to unique Kentucky places and people for the new season of the "Bluegrass and Backroads" television series.
   "There are so many stories to tell," said Bob Shrader, Kentucky Farm Bureau’s video production coordinator.
   The 30-minute program begins its fifth season this month, airing in most television markets in Kentucky and nationwide on the RFD-TV network that is carried on DirectTV and Dish satellite systems.
   "We get wonderful response from viewers in Kentucky and from as far away as California," Shrader said. "Most are requesting additional information about our subjects, and all the comments are positive."
   Each show focuses on three different subjects, with interviews and photography by Shrader and Kentucky Farm Bureau video specialist and coproducer Matt Hilton. The host is Mike Feldhaus, the organization’s director of broadcast services.
   The stories illustrate the business, cultural, geographic and arts diversity of Kentucky.  "I like stories that are very Kentucky," Hilton said. "There are so many artisans and agricultural themes that are so unique."
   Hilton and Shrader began shooting for the 16-week season in early 2007.
   They braved the cold winds to showcase Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto where Bill Samuels pioneered modern concepts of marketing premium Kentucky bourbon labels to the worldwide market. And they endured extreme heat during the summer drought to film racing at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
   Showing vehicles maneuvering the curves and straightaways of the NASCAR-ready asphalt track required climbing 250 steps as the temperature stayed at 105 degrees. Shrader said an usher at the top looked at him and said, "’Honey, I think you need some water.’"
   The conditions may have been less than ideal, but Shrader is pleased with the outcome. "I think it will be a good story."
   That is his and Hilton’s assessment of all the shows. "Each is special," Shrader said.
   On the schedule this year are such features as the J.B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville; Oak Level Forge in Benton; Apollo Choppers, an Eminence business that makes custom motorcycles; Chris Korrow, a Burkesville resident who was featured on PBS in 2007 for his photography of insects in his back yard; Beattyville’s Wooly Worm Festival; Jeff Lambert, a Methodist minister in Henderson who makes dulcimers; and Wildwood Inn in Florence, where every room has such unique themes as a drive-in theater or pirate ship.
   Each show will have at least one story with a focus on agriculture, including the farmer-owned Commonwealth Agri-Energy Corp. plant in Hopkinsville where corn is distilled into a gasoline additive, and the Austin farm where Kenny’s Country Cheese is produced.
   Studio production for 2008 is wrapping up, and there is no dearth of ideas for the next year’s shows. Viewers frequently send in suggestions, and Hilton and Shrader also have picked up ideas on their trips for the completed shows.
   "Kentucky is a wonderful state with so many highways and backroads to travel," Shrader said.
   Satellite subscribers can watch "Bluegrass and Backroads" on Wednesday at 2 p.m. and midnight (E.S.T.) on RFD-TV, which is carried on Channel 231 on the Dish Network and DirectTV’s Channel 379.
   In Louisville, the show can be seen on Insight Cable Channel 2 at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday. WBKI-TV in Louisville and Lexington airs the show at noon on Sunday.
   In Northern Kentucky, the broadcast time is 9:30 a.m. on Saturday on Insight Cable’s Channel 6. Fleming County Cable, which serves Fleming and Lewis counties, carries the Kentucky Farm Bureau show Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. on Channel 6. (WYMT-TV in Hazard will start the new series in April at noon on Saturday.)
   In the central time zone, "Bluegrass and Backroads" is available on:
   Bowling Green’s WBKO/Fox-TV at 1:30 p.m. Saturday; the Western Kentucky TV market served by WEHT-TV in Evansville, Ind., on Saturday at 5 p.m.; WKAG-TV in Hopkinsville at 11:30 a.m. Sunday; and in Paducah on WPSD-TV at 5 a.m. Saturday and CW cable channels 9 and 6 at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
   Check local listings for cable coverage and schedule changes.

By Rachael Kamuf
Kentucky Farm Bureau