19x05 - Turf Grass/Beef Jerky/Wood Chippers/Bowling Pins

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>> Narrator: with commercially

Cultivated grass, you could have

The perfect lawn in minutes.

It comes in pre-grown sheets,

Fresh from the turf farm, ready

To transplant.

First produced in the middle of

The last century, commercially

Grown grass continues to change

The landscape and make the

Neighbors green with envy.

Don't feel like sitting around,

Watching the grass grow?

With commercially cultivated

Turf, there's no need.

Upon delivery, workers simply

Unroll it and trim it.

It's like installing carpeting,

And this is, in fact, a living

Carpet.

With regular watering, it will

Start to put down roots.

It should take about three weeks

To become established, and then

It's time to rev up the

Lawn mower.

It starts with a seed variety

Appropriate to the climate.

This farm is in the

American midwest, and that calls

For a cool-season species,

Kentucky bluegrass.

They compost grass clippings and

Leftover turf in a big pile and

Use it to enrich the farm's

Soil.

Next, using an aerator, they

Punch holes in the soil.

This loosens it, allowing

Nutrients and oxygen to

Infiltrate.

Aerating also breaks up the

Rootstock left from the previous

Crop.

Since grass is a perennial, a

New crop will grow from these

Leftovers, and they'll only need

To plant seed every three or

Four crops.

After about five weeks, the

Grass has begun to sprout.

A sprinkler system helps spur

The growth.

It's a central-pivot irrigation

System, a wheeled tower that is



Sprayers.

It slowly circles the turfgrass

Field to give it a thorough

Soaking.

Next up is the fertilizer.

It will give the grass the

Energy it needs to flourish.

The big three ingredients are

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and

Potassium.

But the mix also contains

Micronutrients, like iron, zinc,

And magnesium, for an extra

Boost.

They fertilize the field four to

Five times a year, using a

Supersized version of a home

Rotary spreader.

Pulled by a tractor, it flings

Fertilizer out the back to cover

A lot of terrain very fast.

An application of herbicide

Keeps the weeds at bay as the

Grass grows and the blades

Become denser.

Once it's thick enough, it

Should resist weed invasion.

They mow it three to four times

A week, never cutting more than

A third of the total leaf.

Anything more would cause the

Grass to focus on repairing

Top growth at the expense of

Establishing a substantial root

System.

When an ordinary lawn tractor

Can't keep up, they bring out a

Mega version.

It has three mower decks, each

With three blades.

It can mow an area the size of



One hour.

They leave the clippings behind

For added fertilizer.

It takes about 18 months for the

Roots to fully develop and form

A thick mass.

That means the turfgrass can now

Be harvested without falling

Apart.

As the harvester moves forward,

Rollers at the front compress

The grass.

Behind the rollers, a wide blade

Cuts the turf at the roots,

Removing just 2/10 inch of

Topsoil.

At the sides, spatula-like

Mechanisms lift the turf onto a

Conveyor.

Once there, another blade cuts

It into strips.

The strips head up to a device

That rolls them up like one

Would roll a sleeping bag.

The conveyor transfers the rolls

To a platform where a robotic

Arm with spears retrieves them

And stacks them on a pallet,

Five at a time.

When the stack is big enough,

The harvester lowers the pallet

Of grass rolls onto the field.

It moves on to continue

Harvesting.

A forklift collects the rolled

Turf for shipment.

This turf has been cut to order

For same-day delivery.

They'll install it fresh from

The farm so it doesn't have time

To dry out and turn yellow.

This grass has been a year and a

Half in the making.

It's now ready to transform a

Dusty yard into a lush, green

One for instant curb appeal.

>> Narrator: if you're craving a

Snack that's portable and packs

A good dose of protein, then

Some beef jerky might just hit

The spot.

Eating dried, cured strips of

Meat dates back to the ancient

Cultures of south america.

Jerky may be an english

Mispronunciation of a native

Word for burnt meat.

Beef jerky is no longer a means

Of sustenance but rather a

Popular snack food that comes in

A variety of flavors.

This premium brand is

Hand-crafted in small batches.

The process starts with bee

Rounds -- a lean cut from the

Muscular hindquarter of the cow.

There's just a bit of fat --

Enough to give the meat good

Flavor.

Workers put the beef rounds

Through a slicer, which cuts

Them into thin strips of

Identical width so that the

Jerky pieces come out as uniform

As possible.

The direction in which the

Slicer cuts, as well as the

Thickness of the slices --



Maximize flavor and tenderness.

The next step, marinating, will

Further tenderize the meat.

Many large producers inject the

Marinade prior to slicing.

This company marinates after

Slicing so that the marinade is

Sure to tenderize and flavor

Every single slice of beef.

After loading a small batch of

Meat into a rotating drum,

Workers add the marinade

Ingredients -- a secret recipe

Consisting of both dry and

Liquid seasonings.

The meat and marinade spin

Together for more than an hour.

By the time the strips come out

Of the drum, they're drenched in

Marinade.

After marinating for another



Into the smokehouse.

Workers lay the marinated beef

Strips on stainless-steel rods.

They space them well apart to

Enable the hot air to penetrate

Each and every one from all

Angles.

Once they fill a rod, they hang

It on a rolling rack.

A rack holds 100 rods -- roughly



Each rack goes into its own

Individual smokehouse, inside

Which two simultaneous processes

Occur.

Water-soaked hardwood chips

Burn, slow-smoking the meat.

The jerky also cooks slowly at

Low heat, no higher than



Maximize the flavor.

The variety of beef jerky

Dictates the type of hardwood

They use.

For sweeter flavors, such as

Honey barbecue or teriyaki, they

Smoke with hickory or applewood,

Whereas for more savory or spicy

Flavors, they use mesquite wood.

Over the course of 5 to 7 hours

In the smokehouse, the

Circulated warm air gradually

Dries out and cures the meat,

And the smoke from the wood

Infuses it.

Quality-control technicians take

Samples from each fully-smoked

Batch and measure to make sure

It's the required thickness of

Just over 1/10 inch.

After workers cut the strips to

Between 2 and 3 inches long, the

Jerky enters an automated scale,

Which weighs out the quantity

Per package.

Meanwhile, an automated

Packaging machine heat-seals the

Bottom and sides of printed

Plastic film, forming a pouch,

Then inserts a resealable zipper

And prints on the lot number and

Best-by date.

The machine then cuts apart each

Individual pouch and flushes the

Inside with nitrogen.

This forces out fresh food's

Worst enemy, oxygen.

Then, the machine drops in

Additional ammunition -- a tiny

Oxygen-absorbing packet.

Now the pouch is ready to

Receive its allotment of

Beef jerky.

In the smokehouse, the raw beef

Loses about three-quarters of

Its weight as the moisture

Inside evaporates and the fat

Cooks off.

So one pound of raw beef yields

Only about 3 1/2 ounces of

Beef jerky.

A conveyor belt transports the

Now-sealed pouches to the boxing

And shipping area.

Every 5 minutes, quality-control

Technicians take a sealed pouch

Off the line to measure the

Nitrogen and oxygen levels

Inside.

Earlier on, they tested samples

From every single batch coming

Out of the smokehouse to make

Sure the slow-cooking process

k*lled off all the bacteria in

The beef and dried it

Sufficiently to ensure this

Meaty treat has a minimum

Shelf life of 14 months.

>> Narrator: the wood chipper

Was invented in germany in 1884.

Today's commercial-size chippers

Devour wood debris and even

Entire trees in mere seconds,

Spitting out chips that can be

Used as garden mulch.

That's why the wood chipper is

One fierce recycler.

Whether it's a fallen tree or

Just a few broken limbs, a

Wood chipper will sink its teeth

Into the problem and transform

It into something useful.

There are different kinds of

Chippers.

This one is drum-style.

It has a feed wheel with

Serrated edges that pushes wood

Into the revolving drum.

Inside, knives tear into the

Wood to chop it into little

Pieces.

It's the forestry equivalent of

A paper shredder.

To make the chipping drum,

Rollers curl a rectangular sheet

Of steel to transform it into a

Cylinder.

The gap between the rollers

Determine the cylinder's

Diameter.

It takes a few passes through

The rollers before one end of

The rectangle meets the other

And it becomes round.

At the next station, a worker

Cuts four large rectangular

Holes into the cylinder, using a

Plasma torch.

He staggers the location of the

Holes.

Each hole will be equipped with

A blade and a deep pocket for

Catching the wood chips.

He now inserts those pockets

Into the slots and welds them to

The drum.

The staggered location of the

Blade pockets means that

No matter where the tree branch

Ends up in the drum, it will

Come into contact with the

Chipper blades.

Those blades will be installed

Later.

Next, he welds the ends to the

Chipper drum.

The ends have holes for a shaft

And for accessing the inside of

The drum.

Then, the drum spins, and

Sensors pick up vibrations,

Which would indicate an

Imbalance.

A computer analyzes the data and

Determines how much weight needs

To be added to the drum and

Where.

The technician locates the spot

On the drum, using this gauge.

Once he finds it, he marks it

With a piece of soapstone.

He then places a metal weight on

The mark and welds it there.

Like the tires on a vehicle, a

Wood-chipper drum needs to be

Balanced in order to run

Smoothly.

Four super-sharp blades are

Installed horizontally above the

Blade pockets.

He bolts them down tightly to

Withstand a spinning speed of



Once the drum has been equipped

With a shaft and a fan for

Moving the wood chips out, they

Lower the drum onto the base.

A crane does the heavy lifting

As a worker guides the shaft

Bearings into the mounts.

He adds some upper housing to

Protect the bearings from

Debris.

These bearings will need to be

Replaced after extensive use.

The hood is next.

It's equipped with a chute for

Ejecting the wood chips.

They attach the hood to the

Base, and this encapsulates the

Wood-chipper drum to keep the

Chipping action under wraps.

Moving to the other side now,

They install the feed rollers

And another chute.

They activate the feed rollers

Manually and check the distance

Between them and the chipper

Drum to confirm that there's

Adequate clearance.

With a crane again bearing the

Load, workers now steer the

Diesel engine towards the

Chipper and lower it into

Position.

They thread a drive belt around

The engine pulley and link it to

One that's been attached to the

Drum's side bearings.

They complete that installation

And install the tires.

They mask the tires with plastic

To protect them as they now

Prime and paint the entire

Wood chipper.

They use a polyurethane paint

Developed for american military

Vehicles.

This tough finish will resist

Scratching as tree trunks and

Branches are dragged through it.

They paint the wood chipper a

Brilliant orange so it will

Stand out on the work site.

Once the paint is cured, they

Shield the drive belt with a

Metal cover, painted to match

The rest of the machine.

They transfer a vinyl decal onto

The side.

It conveys the make and model of

The wood chipper.

After nine days of work, the

Wood chipper is ready for

Action.

Ripping big trees to shreds

Should be no trouble at all.

>> Narrator: here's a somewhat

Striking statistic.

An estimated 95 million people

Worldwide partake in the sport

Of bowling.

One of the most popular

Variations is 10-pin bowling, in

Which you roll a big, heavy ball

Down a lane, aiming to knock

Down 10 large pins.

The sport's international

Governing body dictates very

Strict and precise

Specifications for pin

Manufacturing to ensure pins

Worldwide react uniformly to the

Ball.

As required, this bowling-pin

Factory uses hard maplewood with

A moisture level within

Regulation range.

Workers weigh the slabs and

Calculate which ones they'll

Group together to produce a

Regulation-weight pin.

They glue together three slabs

To form a starting block for a

Single pin.

Then, they stack several blocks

In a vise and clamp them tightly

Until the glue dries -- about



A few light taps with a rubber

Mallet separates any

Stuck-together blocks.

Next, a custom-designed machine

Drills three holes in each

Block, hollowing out what will

Be the center of the bowling

Pin.

This removes some weight and

Leaves space for the wood to

Expand and contract with

Humidity levels.

One hole is at the bottom of the

Block for the base ring they'll

Later attach underneath the pin.

They lay the block in a carousel

Vise and glue a small slab of

Wood to each side.

After 12 to 15 minutes under

Pressure, the glue sets and the

Now-wider block comes off the

Vise.

They transfer to another

Carousel, which runs it through

A planer.

This removes gobs of dried,

Excess glue and levels the top

And bottom surfaces.

Now on to another carousel, to

Receive wood slabs on the two

Remaining sides.

After the glue fully cures for



Through the planer.

The block is now ready to

Acquire the bowling-pin shape.

Workers mount the block on a

Lathe, via the hole on the

Bottom for the base ring.

As the lathe spins, cutters

Gradually shave away wood,

Forming the pin shape.

This whole operation takes about



The next machine saws off excess

Wood from the top and bottom,

Then drills and cuts those

Surfaces smooth.

The machine inserts a nylon ring

Into the hole in the pin's base.

Next stop, an injection-molding

Machine.

It coats the entire pin surface

In liquefied nylon, then quickly

Cools the nylon solid.

This protects the wooden pin

With a hard, durable covering.

Now a weigh-in to make sure it

Falls within regulation range --

Between 53 and 56 ounces.

In the final operation, a

Printing machine spins the pin

Under an inkpad to apply

Decorative stripes.

Then, another pad prints the

Manufacturer's logo.

The ink dries to the touch in

Just 5 minutes and fully cures

In 24 hours.

Crafted from wood slabs in about



Time, these bowling pins are

Alley-ready.