ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 28, 2025)– Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) original series Maryland Farm & Harvest will showcase 4-H youths from Carroll, Harford, and Queen Anne’s counties as they compete at the Maryland State Fair in Baltimore County during its Season 12 finale episode premiering on Tuesday, April 1. A preview 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.
Maryland Farm & Harvest 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. The popular weekly series is hosted by Joanne Clendining, who is joined by “The Local Buy” segment host Al Spoler and a variety of local chefs who serve as guest hosts of “Farm to Skillet” segments.
Throughout its 12th season, Maryland Farm & Harvest introduced viewers to three 4-H families and followed them from their local farms to competitions at their respective county fairs. During the season finale, viewers reunite with the Smithson family of Pond View Farm in White Hall (Harford County), the Chamelin family of Chamelin Family Farm in Westminster (Carroll County), and the King family of Crowning Glory Farm in Church Hill (Queen Anne’s County) at the 2024 Maryland State Fair in Timonium (Baltimore County), where members of all three families compete in different categories of the state 4-H showmanship competition.
The episode begins by reintroducing the industrious youths and recapping the stories of how they each made it to the state’s most prestigious 4-H event. Viewers witness trucks and trailers arriving and unloading and feel the tension rising as the Smithson sisters’ cattle, Caleb Chamelin’s swine, and the King siblings’ lambs complete weigh-ins and make final preparations for the competition. Alongside family members and friends, audiences follow the youths as they head to the main stage to test their mettle against the state’s best competitors and discover if this is their time to earn a coveted blue ribbon.
4-H is more than just a competition for showcasing animals; its mission is to empower youth to develop a wide range of talents. In “The Local Buy” segment, Al Spoler visits the 4-H/FFA Home Arts Building – “the Timonium branch of Alladin’s cave,” as he affectionately calls it – to explore the talent and workmanship of local bakers, beekeepers, botanists, and other artists displaying their wares and vying to win some of the many 4-H creative competitions taking place at the fair. More information about the 2025 Maryland State Fair will be available at mpt.org/farm.
More than 19 million viewers have watched Maryland Farm & Harvest on the statewide public TV network since its debut in 2013. The series has traveled to more than 500 farms, fisheries, and other agriculture-related locations during its first 12 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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