Reported by Nancy Finken, Nebraska Public Radio

It has become one of the most important documentaries PBS has produced this decade, something that still seems a little overwhelming for the Lawrence, Nebraska family named the Buschkoetters.
[Nancy Finken]"Did you even fathom when you agreed to do this project what you were getting into?"
[Juanita] "Not at all. I looked at it as a very short term thing and they were going to bop in and out and that would be it, and it turned out to be a lot deeper than we ever thought it would be."
[Finken]"What sort of discussion was there between the two of you when you had to decide we're going to do this?"
[Darrell] "We were real reluctant at first, but I think after all the turmoil we went through with all the financial problems, I think we were ready for something different, just a little attention from somebody and to let everybody else know what the real world is like out here."
[Juanita] "I know when I worked as field staff, I saw so many farmers that were -- you know, they had so much pride that they didn't want to let anybody know the problems and, of course, that kept them from getting help so I thought if more people can see that when you reach out for help, how much help you actually can get so that's what I was hoping for in the film."
[scene from film - Juanita] "So over time I just started making decisions on my own, and at first I think he did resent it, but I think now it's like it's a relief to him that he doesn't have to be responsible for making all the decisions."
[Finken]"Did you have any concerns about your private lives? Did you realize how up close and personal they were going to be showing your lives?"
[Juanita] "David warned us in the beginning that he wanted to be really up close, but it came up much closer than what I ever thought it would."
[Finken]"There are scenes of the two of you lying in bed, a time that a lot of couples talk, and watching that, you wonder how could you forget that there was a camera there of all places?"
[Darrell]" I think -- you know, we did this for three years, after all it's kind of part of it. You kind of learned after that long to open up. At that point in time, there really was no privacy. In a small town, everybody knows your business anyway or think they do."
[scene from film - Darrell] "Had to get up early and slop through that stuff. Mud and mortar was two-foot deep and had to feed the sows inside the barn because it was so wet. Talk about hell, you know."
[Juanita] "Mm-hmm."
[Finken]"At any point did it stop being fun for you or stop being interesting? You mentioned, Darrell, that you were at a point where you wanted something different, you wanted something to change and this was a way to get some attention, but at any point did you say well, this is too much attention, this isn't fun anymore?"
[Juanita] "Well, the times after -- especially after we had had really stressful times, afterwards I think why did I let it all be filmed and all, because a lot of times I would think to myself, you know, I could really pretend to be different or I could do this and look really good or whatever, but for some reason, it was always just the real thing that David was always able to capture with the camera."
[scene from film - Juanita]"Sign the check and they're going to deposit it into the supervised account but we can't have any money out of it."
[Darrell] "Until?"
[Juanita]" I think just until they get the loss payee out of the crop insurance."
[Finken]"You've seen the film now. Any regrets? Anything you don't like?"
[Juanita] "Well, there's a few things I think that are in the film that I just cringe at because it's so real and it really brings back some of the stressful times. It was real life, and some of the things I kind of -- I wish it could have had a few more of the technicalities about the farming and the farm problems, but I know David was coming more from an artistic point of view so it's more artistic than it is technical about what we've been through."
[Finken]"Your turn, Darrell. Now that you've seen the film, any regrets?"
[Darrell] "Maybe just a couple where going through some of the hard times that we had, you know, I probably didn't handle things as good as I should have, you know, with creditors or, you know, between Juanita and I a few times, but after going through this, I maybe have grown up a little bit. I can handle things better. I regret part of it being on film, but at the same time, I can see how I acted and maybe there are people that have the same problem that could -- maybe it will help somebody out. So not really. All in all, I think it turned out pretty good."
[scene from film - Darrell] "It's a bunch of B.S."
[Juanita] "Well, where does Rich come and get off -- come in telling you everything about our operation?"
[Darrell] "So you know what we should do? Get this list here and when the fall comes, we got extra money, his name is on the very bottom."
[Juanita] "I think it was enlightening for me. When I first watched the film, I feel like I wasn't as compassionate towards what Darrell is going through as I wished I would have been or should have been and I didn't realize that until I was watching the film. "
[Darrell] "I think it opened up both of our eyes to see what each other go through, you know. And through the film, you can see, too, we kind of changed roles for a while, you know. When I was working in town and trying to farm, that's one part I regret I didn't put much time into my girls or with Juanita. I missed out on a lot them three, four years. There's some kind of drive that you got inside you when you're farming, it's just hard to explain."
[Finken]"No doubt in your mind, but what about yours, Juanita? You did not grow up on a farm, but I think in the film you say, you knew to keep Darrell, you had to help him keep the farm."
[Juanita] "I knew that if I wanted to give up and quit the fighting with the farming, I would have to leave him. I mean, there was no question Darrell was never going to quit, he would never move off the farm. Since then, I think, you know, through a lot of the counseling, Darrell has realized that he's kind of re-prioritized things, and I think we probably could make it doing something else, but it wouldn't be the same love that Darrell has for the land right now. Even though I hate having to be gone from home so much, it's been good me seeing him be able to do what he wants to do."
[Finken]"I think another thing that might shock people is the portion of the film where you admit that you're tired of trying to pretend that the meals you're serving have meat in them, you're trying to disguise just how bare your cupboards really are, you're farmers, you're supposed to be feeding the world and you can't feed yourselves." [Juanita] "That was probably one of the toughest things for me to go through was not having meals for the kids. I think the mother in me, that was the thing I could take the least. I think it got to where I had to go against what Darrell wanted. I ended up going to food pantries and that. I had to throw my pride away and think I have my kids to think of."
[Finken]"How did you pull yourselves out of feeling helpless? What can other people do and learn from your example?"
[Juanita] "I think probably the biggest mistake we made in our whole farming operation was not stepping back and looking back at the whole picture sooner than we did. We would have seen what was losing us money a lot faster."
[Darrell]" I mean, if I had to do it all over again, I should have backed down and downsized and took a good look at it before I let things get as bad as they did, but we learned the hard way."
[Finken]"The whole nation has a chance to see this film. Do you think it accurately portrays what family farming is all about today?"
[Juanita] "I think the film shows a lot of the stresses really up close of what farmers go through. I don't think it quite gives the reasons why behind a lot of the technicalities of what leads to those farm problems, but I do think that people might understand hopefully that we are out here really working hard but enjoying it."
[Darrell] "I think it shows what is America about, you know, the family. That's one of the biggest things we're losing. You know, you lose the family, we lose everything else. That's why we have the problems we do, I think. If we could get the family back together and stay together, I think everything else could fall into place."
[Finken]"What do you think your life would be like had you not been a subject of this film? Do you think it made you try harder?"
[Junita]"We were up against a wall so many different times. We were told we weren't going to get the restructuring loan. We were told that I don't know how many different times, and I was determined we were going to do it, and that was before the film was ever even started. I think especially with the film, I just kept telling myself, you know, I'm not going to have an auction be in this film, we are going to make it."