ANNAPOLIS, MD (December 9, 2024) – Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its 12th season, will feature farms and locations in Allegany, Worcester, and St. Mary’s counties during an episode premiering on Tuesday, December 10. 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 the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster (Carroll County), the December 10 episode features the following stories:
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Blessing of the Combines (Worcester County) – For nearly a quarter-century, the small town of Snow Hill has celebrated local farmers with a parade and blessing of the combines preparing for the fall harvest. Viewers meet organizer Becky Payne and see how her idea to honor the farmers who grow our food has blossomed from 500 people and some tractors into the town’s biggest event, boasting more than 8,000 attendees – almost four times the town’s population – and equipment ranging from vintage riding mowers to massive combines that can barely fit down main street.
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Bishop Walsh Aquaponics Lab (Allegany County) – Sitting atop Cumberland’s Haystack Mountain, Bishop Walsh School has been nurturing curious minds since 1966. Thanks to a new aquaponics lab, the school’s students are now also nurturing something of their own: fresh vegetables. The year-old project is so successful that it’s helping to feed students, staff, and even residents of a local homeless shelter. Viewers discover the roles students have at all levels of the preK-12 school in building, managing, and sustaining an environment for dozens of fish, hundreds of gallons of recycled water, and pallets of leafy greens that they eat, sell, and donate.
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The Local Buy: Tobacco Barn Distillery (St. Mary’s County) – Segment host Al Spoler takes a trip to Hollywood to revisit Tobacco Barn Distillery, which was featured during the series’ sixth season. At the time, the business had been producing its special brand of rye bourbon for less than five years. Al sees just how much the veteran-owned distillery has grown since then and what’s stayed the same for the small-batch distillery named “Top Farmer-Distiller” in 2023 by the American Craft Spirits Association. More information about Tobacco Barn Distillery will be available 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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