Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) popular original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its eighth season, will feature farms and locations in Baltimore and Frederick counties and Baltimore City during a new episode airing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 19.
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.
With introductions filmed at First Fruits Farm in Freeland, Baltimore County, Maryland Farm & Harvest’s January 19 episode features the following segments:
- Farm Firewood is a Blazing Success (Baltimore County). When father and son Scott and Roman Braglio of Braglio Farms in Randallstown started selling unwanted trees as firewood, neither could have predicted how popular their business would become. The family operation has grown significantly, and they now turn out loads of wood to keep Maryland homes warm each winter. Find out how firewood is cleaned, dried, and packed and see how some firewood even makes it under the grill at the Braglio’s farm-to-table restaurant, The Woodstock Inn.
- Ask a Farmer: How did you started farming? In this new segment, Maryland Farm & Harvest producers interview a variety of farmers from across the state who share their stories about how they got into the business of agriculture. Viewers will meet farmers from Hurlock, Ridgley, White Hall, Gaithersburg, Oakland, and Westminster.
- Immigrant Family Brews Mead with Maryland Peaches (Frederick County). When Andrzej Wilk's family immigrated to the United States from Poland in the 1990s, they noticed a favorite beverage from their homeland was hard to find here: a fermented honey drink called mead. The family decided to start making their own mead and founded Orchid Cellar Meadery and Winery in Middletown. On the day Maryland Farm & Harvest stopped by, Andrzej was brewing a batch of mead using fresh peaches from Scenic View Orchards in Sabillasville. The segment includes a visit to the fruit farm to see how peaches add a fresh taste to this classic beverage.
- The Local Buy: City-Hydro (Baltimore City). Segment hostAl Spoler heads indoors and learns how Larry and Johanna Hountz grow all their crops in one room at City-Hydro in Baltimore. This vertical growing operation in a Fells Point rowhouse produces 85 varieties of microgreens, which supply local restaurants and farmers markets. A former cybersecurity consultant, Larry is now all in on indoor farming, and even produces and sells vertical farming kits to people across the country interested in starting their own operations. A recipe using fresh vegetables and microgreens will be available at mpt.org/farm.
New episodes of Maryland Farm & Harvest air on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and livestream at mpt.org/anywhere/live-stream-
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 & 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.
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-
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.
