New episode features technological advances in animal and plant breeding
Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series Maryland Farm & Harvest, now in its 10th anniversary season, will feature farms and locations in Anne Arundel, Howard, and Washington counties during an episode premiering on Tuesday, January 17.
Maryland Farm & Harvest airs on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT-HD and online at mpt.org/livestream. 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. Episodes are also available to watch on demand using MPT’s online video player and the PBS Video App.
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. During its 10th season, the series looks back to when it all began nearly a decade ago and revisits some favorite farms and farmers from past episodes.
The January 17 episode, with its focus on technological advances in animal and plant breeding, features the following segments:
- Hybrid Wheat Research (Howard County)- Dr. Vijay Tiwari and his team at the University of Maryland Plant Research Growth Facility are developing a wheat hybrid ideally suited for Maryland’s climate and weather conditions. This hybrid will be disease and heat-resistant and also produce higher yields and profit. Small grain breeders are working alongside small grain pathologists to study and cross-pollinate the most resilient traits of Maryland’s wheat. Dr. Tiwari and his team discuss the research and breeding process and demonstrate some of their techniques. They also show viewers around the 920-acre Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Clarksville, where they plant and study variations of wheat. The researchers are monitoring the crops and at harvest time they identify the plants with the best disease resistance, strongest stalks, and highest yields.
- 10th Anniversary Revisit, Season One – Dairy Genetics (Washington County)- During the first episode of season one (2013), the show traveled to Palmyra Farm in Hagerstown, known for the elite genes of its world-class dairy cows raised by farmers and first cousins Michael Creek and Ryan Shank. The cousins welcome Mr. Katzumi, who has traveled from Japan with the hope of purchasing frozen embryos from the farm’s renowned Holstein dairy cows. Dr. John Heizer is shown determining how many embryos are successful from a recent artificial insemination procedure. He explains the process of collecting embryos so that they can be frozen and later implanted into other cows. Michael discusses how the family ventured into cheese making, raising show cattle, and selling cow embryos to diversify their incomes. The segment concludes with news that there are nine successful embryos, which will bring the farm thousands of dollars in revenue. The farm’s breeding and genetics operation continues to draw buyers from around the world.
- The Local Buy: Governor’s Buy Local Cookout (Anne Arundel County)- Segment host Al Spoler attends the annual Governor’s Buy Local Cookout in Annapolis, hosted by the Maryland Department of Agriculture. Al samples a variety of Maryland’s tastiest treats and talks to the chefs to learn more about the recipes they have prepared. He also speaks with Secretary of Agriculture Joseph Bartenfelder and Governor Larry Hogan about the important contributions of Maryland’s farmers and watermen. More information about some of the farmers and chefs featured in this segment is available at mpt.org/farm.
More than 14 million viewers have watched Maryland Farm & Harvest on MPT since its fall 2013 debut. The series has traveled to more than 430 farms, fisheries, and other agriculture-related locations during its first nine 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 Twitter.
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, Rural Maryland Council, 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 Seafood Marketing Fund, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, Maryland Farm Bureau, and The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.
Other support comes from Mar-Del Watermelon Association.
