MPT Series Maryland Farm & Harvest Visits Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, and Wicomico Counties and Washington, D.C. During December 17 Episode

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its seventh season, will feature farms and locations in Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, and Wicomico Counties and Washington, D.C. during a new episode airing on Tuesday, December 17 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 commercial industry – agriculture. MPT’s production team filmed episode segments at more than four dozen farms in preparation for its seventh season.

Segments featured on the newest episode are:

• Maryland Steam Historical Society Show (Baltimore & Carroll counties): A group of farmers and collectors gather at the Arcadia Show Grounds in Upperco for the Maryland Steam Historical Society’s 64^th annual show. At the yearly gathering, farm equipment from yesteryear is brought back to life with demonstrations of threshing grain, sawing logs the old-fashioned way, and other activities. Through interviews with the show’s organizers and participants, viewers learn about the history of Maryland agriculture and see how farmers – both young and old – are working to preserve and build upon its lasting legacy.
• Three Sisters Farm and Zucchini Bread (Garrett County): Stacy and Rodney Carr raise their three daughters and heaps of produce, including zucchini squash, at Three Sisters Farm in Accident. When Stacy realized all of her peers were also growing and selling the same vegetable, she took the extra step of using her harvest to bake and sell her popular zucchini bread. By finding a niche in the crowded market, the farm continues to grow so that the three sisters can one day take over a successful family business.
• The Local Buy: Winter Tuscan Kale (Wicomico County, Montgomery County, and Washington, D.C.): Segment host Al Spoler visits Martha’s Table, a community development organization in Washington, D.C. whose mission includes providing fresh produce at no-cost food markets. One item on its menu this week is Tuscan kale, grown during the winter in a massive greenhouse at Baywater Farms in Salisbury. Cultivated hydroponically, the kale also makes its way to local grocery stores, restaurants, and organizations such as SevaTruck, a nonprofit food truck that provides free, nutritious meals to anyone in need. Al gets a taste of SevaTruck’s hot Tuscan kale soup, for which a recipe will be available at mpt.org/farms.

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. Previous episodes of the series can be viewed for free on the MPT app and online at MPT’s website.

Viewers can join in on the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by using the hashtag #MDFarmHarvest.

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; the Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation; MidAtlantic Farm Credit; the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program; the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation; the Rural Maryland Council; 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 Maryland Seafood Marketing Fund; the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.; the Maryland Farm Bureau; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; Mar-Del Watermelon Association; Eddie Mercer Agri-Services, Inc.; and Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission.

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Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter @MdAgDept