MPT Series Maryland Farm & Harvest Visits Dorchester, Frederick, and Harford Counties During February 13 Episode

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 9, 2024) – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its 11th season,  will feature farms and locations in Dorchester, Frederick, and Harford counties during an episode premiering on Tuesday, February 13. A preview of the episode will be available on the series’ webpage at mpt.org/farm.

Maryland Farm & Harvest airs on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. Episodes are also available to view on the free PBS App and MPT’s online video player following their broadcast premiere. Encore broadcasts air on MPT-HD on Thursdays at 11 p.m. and on Sundays at 6 a.m. Episodes also air on MPT2/Create® on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

The popular weekly series takes viewers on a journey across the Free State, telling engaging and enlightening stories about the farms, people, and technology required to sustain and grow agriculture in Maryland, the state’s number one commercial industry. 

With introductions filmed at the Daniel James farmstead – part of the Peace and Plenty Rural Historic District in Frederick County – the February 13 episode features the following segments:

• Saltwater Intrusion (Dorchester County). Cambridge-based grain farmer Wendell Meekins takes viewers on a site survey of his fields, exposing the damage caused to his crops by high soil salinity resulting from sinking land, rising sea levels, and extreme weather. Dr. Kate Tulley, director of the University of Maryland’s Agroecology Lab, provides further insight into the growing issue and explains how solutions such as flood lanes, natural buffers, and repurposing the land can help farmers such as Meekins mitigate their losses.

• Day in the Life of a Grain Farmer (Harford County). As third-generation farmers raising more than 600 head of cattle and working more than 1,800 acres of land across four counties and two states, the Rose brothers of Clear Meadow Farm have their hands full. While Greg harvests corn on a field 40 minutes from their home base in White Hall, Zach handles mechanical issues that continue to pop up like gophers. Viewers join each brother, discovering how technology, diversification, and responsible farming practices are keeping their grandfather’s dream alive and fostering optimism for the family’s farming future.
   

• The Local Buy: Loews Vineyard (Frederick County). Segment host Al Spoler joins fifth-generation winemaker Rachel Loew Lipman at Loew Vineyards in Mt. Airy, where the two produce a batch of honey wine using grapes grown on the farm. Rachel explains the distinction between honey wine and mead, and she clarifies what separates the mead her family makes from that which is found at Renaissance festivals. After learning about the establishment of Loew Vineyards and the family’s winemaking history – which dates back as far as the Austro-Hungarian Empire – Al wraps up his visit with a sampling of the vineyard’s wines. More information about Loew Vineyards will be available at mpt.org/farm.

More than 16 million viewers have watched Maryland Farm & Harvest on MPT since its debut in 2013. The series has traveled to more than 450 farms, fisheries, and other agriculture-related locations during its first 10 seasons, covering every Maryland county, as well as Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. 

Past episodes can be viewed at video.mpt.tv/show/maryland-farm-harvest/, while episode segments are available on the series’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/MarylandFarmHarvest/featured. Engage with the show on social media @MarylandFarmHarvest on Facebook and @mdfarmtv on Instagram. 

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; a grant from the Rural Maryland Council Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund; Maryland Agricultural Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO); a grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program; Farm Credit; Maryland Soybean Board; Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts; Wegmans Food Markets; Maryland Nursery, Landscape & Greenhouse Association; Maryland Farm Bureau; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; and a contribution made by the Citizens of Baltimore County. Other support comes from the Mar-Del Watermelon Association and Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation. 

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