MPT Series Maryland Farm & Harvest Visits Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Worcester Counties During Jan. 22 Episode

Anglers prepare for a day of fishing with Morning Star Fishing. photo credit: Maryland Public Television’s Maryland Farm & Harvest

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, in its sixth season, will feature farms and other locations in Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Worcester counties during a new episode airing Tuesday, January 22 at 7 p.m.

Maryland Farm & Harvest takes viewers on journeys across the state, telling stories about the farms, people, and technology required to sustain and grow Maryland’s number one industry: agriculture. During the past year, MPT’s production team has filmed episode segments at more than four dozen farms in preparation for the new season. Segments featured on the upcoming episode are:

• Ocean City Fishing Expedition (Worcester County): In this segment, Maryland Farm & Harvest climbs aboard as Captain Monty Hawkins of Morning Star Fishing in Ocean City takes a group of eager anglers out for a day of fishing 20 miles off shore. Along the way, viewers learn about Captain Monty’s other passion – the Ocean City Reef Foundation – and watch as he and his crew work to replace coral reef wiped out through years of destructive commercial fishing practices.
• Delmarva Land and Litter Challenge (Kent County): The Delmarva Land and Litter Challenge is a partnership among groups that were once at odds with one another. Now farmers, conservationists, government officials, agri-business, and other stakeholders have come together to focus on how farming practices in Maryland affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Viewers meet farmer Allen Davis of Rich Levels Grain, Inc. and Rich Levels Poultry of Galena and Jeff Horstman, executive director of ShoreRivers, to get their perspectives on the Delmarva partnership’s successes and future challenges.
• Close Encounters with Agriculture (Montgomery County): Viewers follow a group of curious Montgomery County fourth graders as they learn about agriculture through a hands-on program known as “Close Encounters with Agriculture.” The program runs each fall at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. Since 1993, it has served more than 80,000 students.
• The Local Buy: Food Forest (Prince George’s County): During this week’s The Local Buy, segment host Al Spoler discovers the bounty of the forest. It may not look like farming as we know it, and that’s because it’s not supposed to. Instead, the team at Forested – a 10-acre food forest in Bowie – is intent on proving that there’s more than one way to feed the world. After helping to harvest chestnuts, Al gets a taste of forest garden hash, using chestnut and other forest crops. The recipe is available to viewers at mpt.org/farm.

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 at mpt.org/farm, and viewers can join the conversation on social media at the hashtag #MDFarmHarvestFans.

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 Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit; Maryland’s Best; the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation; the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation; and the Maryland Soybean Board. Other support comes from the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts; Wegmans Food Markets; the Maryland Nursery, Landscape & Greenhouse Association; the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.; the Rural Maryland Council; the Maryland Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission; the Maryland Farm Bureau, Inc.; Mar-Del Watermelon Association; and the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission.

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Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter @MdAgDept