MPT’s Maryland Farm & Harvest Visits Carroll, Cecil, Queen Anne’s, and Washington Counties During Nov. 17 Episode

Natasha Bowens Blair from Native Mountain Farm in Boonsboro. Photo credit: Maryland Public Television

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its eighth season, will feature farms and locations in Carroll, Cecil, Queen Anne’s, and Washington counties during a new episode airing on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

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 agriculture – the state’s number one commercial industry.

With introductions filmed at Char-Lene Farm in Carroll County, Maryland Farm & Harvest’s newest episode features the following segments: 

• The 4-Legged Landscapers: Goats (Queen Anne’s County). The old rumor that goats will eat anything isn’t really true, but they do eat a wide variety of plants. That’s why Brian Knox and Jennifer Vaccaro run Eco-Goats, which rents out a herd of 27 goats to clear unwanted weeds and vegetation. Viewers follow Brian and Jennifer to a residential property in Kent County, where their four-legged landscapers clear out an overgrown space, all without heavy equipment or herbicides. There’s also a stop at Where Pigs Fly Farm in Centreville, where the two farmers raise a variety of livestock for eggs and meat.
  

• Greenhouse Donates Extra Produce to a Local Shelter (Cecil County). At Deep Roots Inc., a transitional housing facility in Earlville, the staff works to show residents that “homelessness is not destiny.” A key component of this is providing fresh, healthy meals to the families that live there. To help make these meals, the shelter receives donations from the nearby Priapi Gardens in Cecilton, where Vic and Mary Priapi run an 11-acre plant nursery, organic vegetable farm, and garden center. Some of the veggies on the menu are colorful purple and yellow carrots, and even some of the pickiest little eaters at Deep Roots turn out to love them.
• The Local Buy: Elderberries (Washington County). The Local Buy host Al Spoler travels to Native Mountain Farm in Boonsboro, where farmer Natasha Bowens Blair grows a variety of flowers, herbs, and fruit. One of the farm’s most interesting crops is the tiny elderberry, which packs a healthy punch of antioxidants. Natasha, who is also an author of the book “The Color of Food,” shares her experience as a farmer of color and explains why it’s important that her daughters are involved with the farm. Then, Al learns about the health effects of the elderberry and shares Natasha’s recipe for an elderberry tonic, which will be available for viewers at mpt.org/farms.
• The Way it Works: Electric Fence. Segment host Joe Ligo explains how the “electric” gets into an electric fence, and shows how farmers use electric fences to keep livestock safe.

Nearly 10 million viewers have tuned in to Maryland Farm & Harvest since its 2013 debut. The series has taken MPT viewers to more than 360 farms, fisheries, and other agriculture-related locations during its first seven seasons, covering every Maryland county, as well as Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. 

New episodes of Maryland Farm & Harvest air on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and are live-streamed on MPT’s website. The newest episode will be re-broadcasted on MPT-HD Thursdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 6 a.m. and on MPT2/Create® on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

All past episodes can be viewed at MPT’s website. Specific segments can be found on Maryland Farm & Harvest’s YouTube channel. 

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, Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), MidAtlantic Farm Credit, Rural Maryland Council, Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF), Maryland Soybean Board, Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts, Wegmans Food Markets, Maryland Nursery, Landscape & Greenhouse Association, Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission, Maryland Farm Bureau, and The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.

Other support comes from the Mar-Del Watermelon Association, Eddie Mercer Agri-Services, Inc., and the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF).

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