the was a scene in aftermath after lee's army had retreated into maryland. this was a moment of union victory. >> learn more about union army painter james hope tonight at 8:00 and bid that eastern on lectures in history. you are watching american history tv, where we bring the classroom to you. county, located in the san joaquin valley of central california is one of the most productive agricultural counties in the u.s., reducing over $7 billion in farm commodities. hereamily has been farming since the 1850's. he explains what affect the federal government had on the area. >> you do you get the feeling people realize -- >> we do here, obviously.

back on the east coast, i suspected it would come as a surprise to a lot of people that california is a top producing agricultural state in the nation. we have 39 million people who live in the state. when you think about the juxtaposition with people, land development, management of a natural resource base, you think about all of that, sure, a lot of people outside of california and outside of the west wouldn't really understand the fact that we have been a big agricultural engine of the united states. ranch six miles north of visalia. this is a property my great-grandfather came to when he came to california. he and his brother came out from

arkansas in the early 1850's for the gold rush. most, he was up in el dorado county. he and his brother came down here and after a couple trips into this region, he and his brother settled in this area. the homestead act was passed in the 1860's. he and his wife filed. this was all swamp and overflow land of the time. they filed on a section of land that was 640 acres. each of them could file on 320 acres. , essentially they were livestock people. over time, the operation group. hogs,ad cattle, they had they grew grain. part of the central san joaquin valley from the sierra nevada's to the lake basin at

one time was a huge oak forest. there was a lot of water. settlers camerly into this area and settled in the foothills, the lower foothills of the sierra nevada's freight there wasn't a lot of economic activity here. we are driving through is an orchard. big walnut producing county, the largest in the nation. they grow them here because of the soil. we can manage these crops. they have to be era gated. you bring in surface water and pump water. we pump water out of the ground. time working in this industry and going back to ranch,mily operating the

what are some of the biggest changes over time that have had an effect on the county? >> from a production capability it is the cropping patterns. when i first got out of college and came back and went to corn is a lot of growing in this area -- this is a big cotton growing area. a lot of corn, a lot of grain was grown in the area. the changes have been in terms of cropping patterns. ownershipve been the and the technology involved in the actual production of agriculture. the technology available to farmers to do more position farming, to do more precision farming. the irrigation systems have become more efficient. water will always be short.

the systems we are putting into our permanent crops, there have been a big change. >> what are some of the biggest challenges farmers face out here? >> markets. a lot of the products we grow -- we export an awful lot of what we grow here. spent the last 30 to 40, 50 years developing, agriculture in general, developing markets in asia, european union, south america. markets andthose growing your product, what we do in california almost better than any other place is producing a quality product. we are talking about citrus or almonds or walnuts or whatever we're talking about, it is the quality of the product we can

sell we can offer to the consumer both here in united states and around the world. water will always be a challenge. we just got through here in california sustainable groundwater act was passed by the legislature. process, we are plea together sustainable groundwater management program pursuant to the legislation. making sure we are not over drafting the water making sure we manage our groundwater will lead to sustainable supplies. for many years we were over drafting it. look to the east here. about 11,000 feet.

is also no snow pack in the winter. -- that is all snow pack in the winter. also -- what created the deep soil in the valley. it also provides a very rich .roundwater that we cap also supplemental service water in this area. >> has a been pretty good here? >> we really have. , this at the southern end is a dryer part of the valley usually. drought a most recent lot of the wells and communities to the east and south of us a lot of the individual wells went dry.

the water for us, without the year a geisha and in the water availability we have, we wouldn't have had the better culture. you think of a profit for the most part is grown here. back to the markets. in have some of the shakeups trade between the u.s. and other countries around the world, has it affected anyone here? >> the terrorist battle did not help us at all. the uncertainty that the tariff battle brought to the markets difficult walnut

here for the price we got for our products this year. i don't know about the other commodities. i know some of the crops. particularly because we do so much export. whether its pistachios or omens or walnuts. they dispense a last 40 years and beyond developing those markets. when you interject the uncertainty this whole tariff brought, it helped destroyed a lot of the work of the last 30 to 40, completely rebuilding all that. it's about trust. believe whato

you're bringing to them is the quality you say it is. that's what we spent time doing. we are the eternal optimists. those are persimmons, and the walnuts. >> him in a different crops or commodities have come out? >> i know i'm going to get this wrong. between --aid from all the vegetable crops, all the tree crops, all the field crops, all of that. that's another big issue, the issues we are going to be facing

. the whole issue around the need for sustainable workforce that we can employ here. big challenge ahead. a mored like to see where we program recognize the need for foreign agricultural workers to come in on a regular basis. trying to cut down on the legal problem, the legal immigration that comes into this area to work. what we are hoping for, to get a more sustained workforce where people are going to have to earn more. the quality of life is going to have to grow. don't have a diversified economy, we're getting more diversified.

agriculture is becoming more specialized. that will get better. it's what we have to deal with here. it's a challenge. you look at most agricultural economies, particularly in the west we depend on a lot of farm labor. you will see that a lot. that's why we try to bring in industry, industries that will help support the economy of a given area. provide jobs to move up the job chain. --t's happening to thing too. i'm going to take you out to the epitome of the federal

government's role. was a dream of some of the water engineers here in california. then the depression hit and we couldn't afford it. and built northern california. it is the largest bureau of project solely in the confines of the state. the army corps of engineers overseas and runs the dam on the river. a lot of the water comes into the irrigation district.

that's a flood control project. they do flood control but they also help distribute and provide surface water for irrigation. the amount of groundwater was in sustainable to provide for the kind of production we see here now. you get toward the foothills, you get into shallower and shallower soils. we are bringing in surface water and various your geisha and ditches. manage thislly project. overseas it. formed of the was

various districts that bought and used the water. over the bureau of reclamation. the oversight in the running of the districts itself. this is a canal system that runs down the eastern side from fresno county into kern county. there are irrigation districts, there are cities. lindsay down south of us here. some of the drinking from the canal. a --y agricultural for agricultural for irrigation purposes. the way we've moved water

around, created plumbing systems and most efficiently is what we've done here in california. we produce a high-quality food product around here in the united states. a lot of regulations which relate what we do and how we grow the products. it is required our industries, individuals and industries are involved in that process. it's very proactive here in california. we've got to maintain that, so that's what the consumer demands. we have to make sure we can produce those high-quality products. those are the challenges we facing. they are going to be around more and more over time.

everything we do is regulated. the exercise we use, the amount we use. it will ultimately lead to some pretty significant regulations dealing with how we manage water in the united states. all that. >> are we talking about federal regulations. do you feel like people that do with are they more in tune what does go on in washington? or sacramento? >> we hope so.

i know most of my neighbors were. we had to be. general farm organization to to putnd together together various regulations and recognize the importance of food safety, the issue of food safety and how we regulate that. but we are not over doing it becomes non-economic for the .rower to grow that product what that speaks to is the need to be engaged.

both here in sacramento and washington dc. it has required our industries and individuals involved in that process. very proactive here in california. recentlyty tour staff traveled to california to learn about its rich history. learn more about stops on our tour. you are watching american history tv, all weekend every weekend on c-span3. >> live super bowl sunday at noon eastern, author and sports in in depth. author of many books, including game over,ame fool, how politics has turned the

sports world upside down and its most recent, jim brown, last man standing. >> i love sports, and that's why i think we need to fight for sports. to do so, weng need to hear our history. that's her greatest ammunition in this fight. the athletes,w sports writers and the fans who stood up. i think it allows us to look at the world and see that struggle can affect every aspect of life in this system. >> join our live three-hour conversation come with your calls, emails, tweets and facebook questions live sunday at noon eastern on c-span two. >> in the 1950's and 60's, the cia secretly funded radio free europe, which broadcast anti-communist propaganda behind

the iron curtain. talks about the program's u.s. operations, which saw funds and support from politicians, corporations and american citizens. this 25 minute interview was recorded at the american historical association's annual meeting in chicago. >> i want to talk about your book in just a moment. we begin with a topical here so much about, especially our current president. fake news, what is it? them a fake news is a new term for an old phenomenon -- >> fake news is a new term for an old phenomenon. untruths propagated through the media. this is as old as the media itself. isepisode that comes to mind on the eve of the spanish-american war, william randolph hearst, the powerful media magnet of his