MPT Series Maryland Farm & Harvest New Season Starts Nov. 14 

OWINGS MILLS, MD – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, entering its fifth season, will feature farms from Prince George’s, Calvert, Kent, and Talbot counties on its season premiere episode airing Tuesday, November 14 at 7 p.m.

Featured on the upcoming episode are:

• Robin Hill Farm, located in Brandywine, (Prince George’s County). As part of a segment exploring the world of agriculture statistics, the series travels to Robin Hill Farm, a vineyard and wedding venue – which previously served as a tobacco farm, greenhouse and hog operation – that could be considered a microcosm of Maryland’s agricultural diversity and history. Viewers also get a look inside the National Agricultural Statistics Service, located in Washington, D.C., where an armed guard stands watch over top secret crop reports, used to provide insight into supply and demand, before they are transmitted around the world.
• Rosemary Ranch, located in Port Republic (Calvert County). Viewers meet fledgling farmer Kevin Warren, a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran, and find out how the produce from his farm is marketed under the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Homegrown by Heroes Kevin shares the ups and downs of transitioning from a career on the seas and in the sky to one planted firmly on the ground. The segment also features Chesapeake’s Bounty, a local market, and Kevin’s first customer.
• Red Acres Farm, located in Worton (Kent County). This segment takes viewers through the history of this more than 130-year-old farm and how Bryan Williams is diversifying his farm by adding a hydroponic greenhouse to grow 10 varieties of lettuce. Williams explains now nearby Kent County High School inspired the addition of the greenhouse, and shares why he hopes it will help his son have a future on the farm.
• Nature’s Garlic Farm, located in Easton (Talbot County). During the episode’s The Local Buy segment, host Al Spoler introduces viewers to Gourmet Hardneck Garlic and shares how farmer Jim Reinhardt grows and harvests his flavorful garlic. Al also shows how both the garlic clove and underutilized scape are used in flavorful recipes.

Each week, Maryland Farm & Harvest takes viewers on a journey across the state, telling stories about the farms, people, and technology required to sustain and grow Maryland’s number one industry: agriculture. Over the past year, MPT’s production team has filmed stories at more than four dozen farms in preparation for the new season.  Maryland’s rich agricultural heritage, the importance of bees, and growing crops in the face of changing weather patterns are among themes covered in depth during upcoming episodes.

Approximately five million viewers have tuned in to Maryland Farm & Harvest since its fall 2013 debut. The series has taken MPT viewers to more than 200 farms in its first four seasons, covering every Maryland county, as well as Baltimore City and Washington, D.C.

Joanne Clendining, who earned an Emmy® from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her work as Maryland Farm & Harvest host, returns for season five. She is joined by Al Spoler, co-host of WYPR-FM’s “Cellar Notes” and “Radio Kitchen” programs, who hosts The Local Buy segment during each episode.

Maryland Farm & Harvest airs on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and is rebroadcast on Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. and Sundays at 6 a.m. Each show also airs on MPT2 on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.  More information about the series is available m at mpt.org/farm, and viewers can join the conversation on social media at the hashtag #MDFarmHavestFans.

Agriculture is Maryland’s largest commercial industry, contributing more than $17 billion in revenue each year. As of 2016 approximately 350,000 Marylanders are employed in some aspect of agriculture. The state has 12,300 farms accounting for approximately two million acres, with nearly 6,000 full-time farmers.  Today, 110 farms and more than 7,679 acres are certified organic in Maryland.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture is MPT’s co-production partner for Maryland Farm & Harvest. Major funding is provided by the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board.

Additional funding is provided by Maryland’s Best; MidAtlantic Farm Credit; the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation; the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation; and the Maryland Soybean Board.

Other support comes from Wegmans Food Markets; the Maryland Nursery, Landscape & Greenhouse Association; the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.; the University of Maryland Agriculture Law Education Initiative; the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts; the Maryland Farm Bureau Service Company, and by Mar-Del Watermelon Association; Hoffman Irrigation, LLC, an authorized Valley Irrigation dealer; Chesapeake College; and the Rural Maryland Council.

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