MPT Series Maryland Farm & Harvest Visits Locations in Harford County and Baltimore City During November 19 Episode

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November, 14, 2024) – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its 12th season, will feature farms and locations in Harford County and Baltimore City during an episode premiering on Tuesday, November 19. A preview of the episode can be found 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 live and on demand using the free PBS app and MPT’s online video player. 

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 Evermore Farm in Westminster (Carroll County), the November 19 episode features the following stories:

• 4H Families: The Smithson Family of Pond View Farm (Harford County) – The Smithson sisters – Isabella, Charlotte, and Mabel – are three of the more than 60,000 Maryland youths who participate in 4H, the largest youth club in the United States. A second-generation 4H family and owners of Pond View Farm in White Hall, the Smithson’s have been raising a new batch of cattle for an upcoming showmanship competition at the Harford County Farm Fair. Viewers meet 4H parents Shane and Jackie Smithson and their daughters and follow along as the girls discover whether their months of feeding, washing, training, and hair care have helped lead them to victory in the county competition.

• IMET Indoor Salmon Fishery (Baltimore City) – Dr. Yonathan Zohar has been studying aquaculture and marine biotechnology for more than 40 years with one goal in mind: sustainable, land-based seafood. After receiving a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and additional support from universities, businesses, and government agencies nationwide, his dream may finally be within reach. However, he’ll first need to demonstrate that his program, the Recirculating Aquaculture Salmon Network (RAS-N), is an economic and environmental success. At the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, Dr. Zohar leads the audience through RAS-N facilities while explaining the project’s need, promise, and potential.

• Farm to Skillet: Chef Steve Chu, Fells Point Farmers Market (Baltimore City) – Chef Steve Chu, co-founder of Ekiben, leads viewers through the Fells Point Farmers Market, where he finds beef from Albright Farms (Monkton), lamb and vegetables from Hillside Meadows Farms (Glenville, PA), and seafood from Coastal Canyon Seafood (Annapolis). The fresh, local ingredients serve as inspiration for Asian-inspired meat skewers Chu grills outside his restaurant’s South Baltimore location, where he invites passersby to enjoy the finished products. Recipes will be available for viewers to download at mpt.org/farm.

More than 16 million viewers have watched Maryland Farm & Harvest on the statewide public TV network since its debut in 2013. The series has traveled to nearly 500 farms, fisheries, and other agriculture-related locations during its first 11 seasons, covering every Maryland county, as well as Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. 

Encore broadcasts of Maryland Farm & Harvest 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. Past episodes can be viewed on the free PBS app and MPT’s online video player, while episode segments are available on the series’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/MarylandFarmHarvest/featured. 

Audiences are invited to engage with the series 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; MARBIDCO; a grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Specialty Crop Block Program; Farm Credit; Maryland Soybean Board; Maryland Nursery, Landscape & Greenhouse Association; Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts; Maryland Farm Bureau; The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment; Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation; and by the citizens of Baltimore County.

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