Episode visits sites in Carroll, Cecil, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and Wicomico counties

Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest returns for its eighth season on Tuesday, November 10 with new half-hour episodes. The season premiere features farms and locations in Carroll, Cecil, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, and Wicomico counties as part of a “Farm Machines” themed episode.

New episodes of Maryland Farm & Harvest air on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and livestream at mpt.org/anywhere/live-stream-mpt/. Encore broadcasts are available on MPT-HD Thursdays at 11 p.m. and Sundays at 6 a.m. Each episode also airs on MPT2/Create® on Fridays at 7:30 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 agriculture in Maryland, the state’s number one commercial industry.

Series host Joanne Clendining, who recently earned her second Emmy® award from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her work on Maryland Farm & Harvest, returns for season eight. She is joined by Al Spoler who handles duties for each episode’s The Local Buy segment. The series’ season eight preview is available for viewing at youtube.com/watch?v=sRP-CYzlx0Q&feature=youtu.be.

Segments featured on the November 10 episode are:

• Award-Winning Hay Farmer (Carroll County). Maryland Farm & Harvest’s news season starts with a trip to Glenn’s Hay & Straw in Sykesville to visit farmer Glenn Rash. At 89-years-old, Glenn has decades of experience growing and baling hay, along with a wall filled with awards from the Howard County Fair and Maryland State Fair to prove it. Over the course of several days, he shows viewers how patience, the right machinery, and a little luck with the weather forecast help produce the perfect load of hay bales.
• Precision Ag: Computers in the Field (Cecil County). Father and son "Big Bill" and "Little Bill" Jeanes of Dividing Farm in Earlville are planting soybeans, and they have some extra help thanks to a system known as "Precision Ag." By connecting their farm equipment to computers and GPS, they can program how much fertilizer and seed they want to place in each part of their field. The system automatically adjusts and even steers the tractor. Precision Ag technology helps make farming more efficient by saving both time and money.

• The Local Buy: Turning Wheat to Flour (Talbot, Queen Anne’s and Wicomico counties). For more than 300 years, the Old Wye Grist Mill on the border of Talbot and Queen Anne's counties has been grinding local grain into flour and cornmeal. The Local Buy host Al Spoler explores the old mill and the equipment that powered the industrial revolution in America. With a donation of wheat from farmer Aaron Cooper of Cutfresh Organics in Eden, Maryland, Old Wye Mill volunteer miller Joshua Fradel shows how to make flour the old fashioned way. Al then has a tasty recipe for whole wheat muffins available for viewers at mpt.org/farm.

This season Maryland Farm & Harvest adds two new regular segments -- one called “The Way it Works,” offering a look at the mechanical side of agriculture, and the other titled “Facebook Photo Challenge,” featuring photos submitted online by Maryland farmers on a variety of interesting topics.

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. Past episodes can be viewed at video.mpt.tv/show/maryland-farm-harvest/ while episode segments area available on the series YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/MarylandFarmHarvest/featured.

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 Mar-Del Watermelon Association, Eddie Mercer Agri-Services, Inc., and Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation.

About Maryland Public Television

Maryland Public Television (MPT) is a statewide, public-supported TV network and Public Broadcasting Service member offering entertaining, educational, and inspiring content delivered by traditional broadcasting and streaming on TVs, computers, and mobile devices. A state agency, it operates under the auspices of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission. MPT creates local, regional, and national content and is a frequent winner of regional Emmy® awards. MPT’s commitment to educators, parents, caregivers, and learners of all ages is delivered through instructional events and Thinkport.org. MPT’s year-round community engagement activities connect viewers with resources on a wide range of topics. For more information visit mpt.org.