♪ ♪ JOANNE CLENDINING: It's a hardworking agricultural world out there from the Appalachians to the Atlantic coast.

Did you know soybeans are used in everyday products?

That raising beef cattle is a family affair?

And pork is your other red meat?

Don't go away, stories about the people who work the land and grow our food are coming up next on, “Maryland Farm and Harvest.” ANNOUNCER: Major funding for "Maryland Farm and Harvest" is made possible in part by... the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, investing in smarter farming to support safe and affordable food, feed, and fuel, and a healthy Bay.

Additional funding provided by Maryland's Best.

Good for you.

Good for Maryland.

A grant from the Rural Maryland Council, Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Fund, Marbidco, helping to sustain Food and Fiber Enterprise for future generations.

A grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program.

Farm Credit.

Lending Support to Agriculture and Rural America.

The Maryland Soybean Board and Soybean Checkoff Program.

Progress Powered by Farmers.

The Maryland Nursery Landscape and Greenhouse Association, the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts.

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.

The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation.

Promoting the importance of agriculture in our daily lives.

The Maryland Pork Producers Association proudly works to educate consumers and advocate for farmers.

Taste what pork can do.

(theme music plays) (chicks cheep) JOANNE: Would you be surprised to learn that a recent report shows Maryland agriculture generated over $3.3 billion in sales?

Hi, I'm Joanne Clendining.

Welcome to “Maryland Farm and Harvest.” With over 12,500 farms covering some two million acres, it's no surprise to us that agriculture is the number one commercial industry in the state.

Soybean, grain, and livestock are at the top commodities, with livestock accounting for 60% of the total sales.

Today we're in Annapolis at Hollywood Farm, where they're carving out their own slice of the livestock pie by raising grass-fed lamb on 125 acres of bucolic pasture land, which also includes a several-acre community garden.

Coming up, a third-generation farmer is raising Angus naturally.

But first, I mentioned soybean is a top commodity.

We visit the Eastern Shore to learn how Perdue AgriBusiness is working with farmers to keep the crop sustainable.

(tractor engine).

It's been widely claimed that the oldest profession is... farming.

Why?

What were you thinking?

For 12,000 years now, farmers around the globe have worked the soil to provide for their communities.

Those ancient farmers knew a thing or two about soil health, from land management and water control, to crop rotation and soil enrichment, each generation built upon the last.

Improving techniques, adapting to climate, technological, and scientific advances.

So while the term sustainable farming is rather new, the concept is ancient.

Healthy soil equals better crops, that's something six-generation farmer, Jason Scott, knows mighty well.

JASON SCOTT: The family's been farming on the Shore for hundreds of years.

Uh, we're here in Hurlock, Maryland, at Diamondback Farms.

This is kind of our home base here, our shop here behind me.

We have about 600 acres here, right in this little area.

And then a total of about 1,700 acres, uh, altogether here in Dorchester County, Maryland.

Over the years, we, you name it, we've probably grown it at some point for processing.

We've been growing grain for Perdue, uh, ever since I can remember.

JOANNE: While Maryland adopted the oriole as the state bird back in 1947, on the Eastern Shore, it's kind of been the chicken since the 1920s.

And today, the majority of the region's soybean and corn crop supplies the region's poultry industry.

With Perdue being the anchor to Maryland's $1 billion poultry industry.

JASON: It makes it that you, you wanna work with them, not only are they a leader into the, the industry, but they are a locally owned and, and local company focused on the Eastern Shore.

JOANNE: Perdue Farms has spent four generations working with local farmers, and they're eager to make that relationship last well into the future.

SCOTT RAUBENSTINE: Our sustainability is really important for the next generation, right?

It's setting the stage for the next 25 years.

BENJAMIN HILDEBRAND: For us, sustainability is a holistic approach.

We see our farmers as the first environmentalists in a lot of ways.

They are the ones who are caring for the soil, and because they've gotta use it year in and year out to produce the products that they're creating on farm.

So what's, what's happening out here?

JASON: So that was a cornfield, uh, we're actually out there working in cover crops, so that's a turbo till, and give us a week, and it'll be green as can be.

BENJAMIN: Wow.

JOANNE: While many farmers have adopted no-till and cover crops to improve soil health, there has been one big factor keeping many other farmers from growing green.

JASON: Most important thing is you have to have profitability; you can't have sustainability without profitability.

JOANNE: Farming is a business that, in many ways, is controlled by the market.

What the market demands is what sells.

On the Eastern Shore, Perdue Farms is the market, and regenerative grains is what's selling.

JASON: Being able to, to have this marketplace allows us to try some new sustainability practices that, that may be a little bit more risky but, but you know, we can't take a hit on our yield.

JOANNE: Neither can Perdue.

It's why Perdue's vertical supply chain manages every aspect of the production process from seed to fork, and they've been listening to their clients.

SCOTT: Jason, these beans look great.

JASON: Yeah, thanks.

These are the new, um, 48z58 Plenish Oleic soybean.

SCOTT: So they are high oleic.

JASON: They're high oleic.

JOANNE: Perdue AgriBusiness sells the processed oil from these high oleic beans to businesses making everything from cooking oil to snacks, even coffee creamer.

Today's consumers are concerned about where their food comes from, how it's grown, and how it affects things like carbon emissions.

SCOTT: So if the consumer's asking for more traceability from seed to fork, then we wanna be able to provide that data and show that we're reducing our footprint as we're, we're utilizing natural resources.

JOANNE: In 2022, Perdue AgriBusiness partnered with Bayer to launch the Perdue Sustainability Program with the goal to reduce carbon emissions and increase sustainability in the food chain.

Eligible farmers are paid per acre if they utilize sustainable practices like no-till, strip till, and cover crops.

In return, planting and harvest data is sent to Perdue.

SCOTT: Having that data, we can actually improve water quality.

We can improve the biodiversity of the acre.

We can improve the soil health.

All that leads to a more nutrient-dense grain.

BENJAMIN: The chicken is what it eats, so that grain that we're feeding it day in and day out, uh, is essential to its health and, and its wellbeing, but also in producing a high-quality product.

SCOTT: And so we're out to prove that and we're working with our farmers to implement these regenerative ag practices and really make an, an acre impact as it relates to the environment and how we produce poultry.

BENJAMIN: We see sustainability and, uh, this connection back to the farmer as an essential piece of how we innovate for the future.

JOANNE: A future that, if well managed, will sustain farmer, business, and soil for generations to come.

In 2025, Perdue christened, the Miss Madeleine, this 300 foot long barge can move up to 1.25 million gallons of soy oils from their Chesapeake plant to their Salisbury refinery, lessening their overland carbon footprint.

♪ ♪ All right, it's time to test your agricultural know-how.

Here is our thingamajig for the week.

You think you know what it is?

Here's a hint, you may think this is something out of a horror film, but “hay,” guess again.

Stay tuned, and we'll have the answer at the end of the show.

I know everyone needs the latest and so-called greatest machinery to get the job done, but if you're like me, there's nothing sweeter than an old farm tractor.

Check out some picks of those iron beauties.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ JOANNE: When a third-generation Eastern Shore farmer took over the family farm, he put his future in beef cattle, and for him, it's been a cash cow.

(tractor engine).

(whistling).

LUKE SULTENFUSS: Come on, cows!

Doing what I do here at the farm is, is exciting.

Some days it's frustrating, yeah.

(grunts).

This isn't a 9-to-5 job, but at the end of the day, it's mine.

And every day I get outta bed, and I'm excited to see what the day brings.

(mooing).

Back with Mama.

JOANNE: Luke Sultenfuss is a third-generation farmer tending the land like his father and grandfather before him.

While their operations were mostly grain, Luke took a different path.

LUKE: Uh, we always had cows growing up.

We were in 4-H.

They weren't like high-dollar cows; they weren't like that $10,000 show steer, it was like if we could get a halter on 'em and them not kill us, is the cows that we had.

JOANNE: Luke enrolled at the University of Maryland as an agricultural business management major and was tasked with creating a business plan for his capstone.

LUKE: We kind of put together this model of a farm-to-table beef operation.

And after kind of massaging that business plan, I thought, well, this could actually work.

JOANNE: Thus, Darland Manor Farm was born, starting with 12 head and selling to friends and family.

Luke has grown his beef operation, where it can be found in restaurants and locally owned grocery stores.

(mooing).

LUKE: We run a cow-calf operation, and we do finish our animals out here ourselves.

We're about 95% Black Angus.

A lot of our herd originated from the Wye Angus, uh, which is run by the University of Maryland.

JOANNE: Luke is barely into his 30s, while the average age of farmers in America is over 57 years old.

And it can be challenging for younger farmers to start their own operation.

LUKE: It's a financial commitment; you have to be okay with going into debt, and there's a certain amount of trust.

It's getting harder and harder, unfortunately, for, for young people like me to be able to borrow money.

And you can't just snap your fingers together and say, “Hey, I need 150 grand to start this.” You know, you have to take baby steps to grow.

JOANNE: One resource that Luke falls back on is family.

LUKE: I couldn't be where I am without the help of them.

My family is a big, great support team.

JOANNE: Luke's father, Mark Sultenfuss, was an agronomist with the University of Maryland, and he's seen the challenges that Luke has overcome.

MARK SULTENFUSS: There's been days when it's really been discouraging out here, when it's been cold, and it's been wet, and the calves are all coughing.

Those situations where you just have to just muddle through it.

One of his quotes is, “I don't know, but I'll figure it out.” And, and I, I give him a lot of credit for that.

JOANNE: Just 12 hours ago, Luke welcomed a new member to the herd who's ready to be tagged and given his first shot.

We're gonna give it a shot of the Multimin, which is just vitamins.

Make sure it's all got, everything is needed.

The mom will provide most of it, but we always give him a little shot just to give him a little booster.

JOANNE: Cows like to be alone when giving birth, and this mama delivered in a harvested cornfield.

Now she's eating back at the barn, and the calf is sleeping, making Luke's job a bit easier.

LUKE: Alright, alright, so we're gonna give a little shot.

Check it over.

It's a little bull calf.

We're gonna tag it.

Alright, get it up.

Turn his tag out.

Try to weigh it.

Probably 65 pounds.

Everything looks good.

He's off to the races.

JOANNE: As the calf's first day goes on, Luke becomes worried that he hasn't seen him nurse from his mother yet.

LUKE: And this is a first-time mom.

So just to make sure that everybody is getting along, we lock 'em together.

Sometimes the moms have a difficulty figuring out what's going on 'cause it's their first time seeing this too.

MARK: She acts like she loves it, but she doesn't quite know what to do with it.

LUKE: Mm-hmm.

JOANNE: As concern mounts, Luke decides to put the cow into the chute and assist in the nursing.

LUKE: Don't miss.

(metal thud) MARK: Easy girl.

Easy girl, you're gonna get your baby.

JOANNE: With the cow safely restrained, Luke helps mother and calf acclimate to each other.

LUKE: Kind of show it where to nurse from and let the mom let it nurse in a nice, controlled environment where they both can figure out what's going on.

She's actually not as full as I thought.

So I think the calf has actually drank some.

JOANNE: The calf will continue to be monitored, and this isn't the only newborn on the farm.

Weeks ago, Luke and his wife welcomed their first child, and Luke's already looking towards the future.

LUKE: This is the next generation, hopefully.

He doesn't seem too excited about it right now.

JOANNE: For Luke, raising cattle has given his life fulfillment, and now with the new addition to his own herd, his life has a deeper purpose.

And to answer the age-old question, where's the beef?

Did you know that as of January 1st, 2025, the total number of cattle roaming Maryland farms was 154,000 head.

Coming up, a collision of flavors from the chefs at Collision Course in Westminster.

But first, who hasn't gazed out across the rolling pastures to see farms nestled in valleys and thought that is pretty as a painting?

Well, here are a few of those works of art.

Enjoy.

♪ ♪ During the Renaissance period, farm paintings went from being backdrops of religious scenes to becoming the focal point of many artistic works.

French artists like Claude Lorrain and Nicholas Poussin were some of the first to captivate with their magnificent rural portraits.

During the Dutch Golden Age, farm paintings were used to celebrate the agricultural beauty and pride of the Dutch people.

While English artists like John Constable and JMW Turner painted alluring landscapes as a means of escape.

Over the years, farm paintings would undergo many stylistic changes and be used to convey different messages.

But following the Civil War, the art form would become a cultural staple in America.

Artists such as Winslow Homer and Grant Wood painted scenes that romanticized American rural life, hoping not only to heal old wounds of the past but to offer comforting depictions of American life.

Farm paintings have undergone quite an evolution since becoming its own genre centuries ago.

And while the meanings behind these paintings may change with time, the artwork itself will always be timeless.

If you have a hankering for a pork dinner, then chefs Tony and Ashley Gerald of Collision Course in Westminster have an award-winning way to cook it on this week's, “Farm to Skillet.” (sizzling).

ASHLEY GERALD: Hi, welcome to Main Street, right here in downtown Westminster.

My name's Ashley Gerald.

TONY GERALD: And I'm Tony Gerald.

ASHLEY: And we are the owners of... TONY: Collision Course.

ASHLEY: This is our Soul Food fusion restaurant right here in our community.

TONY: Today, we're gonna be preparing a pork loin dish for you.

Uh, we're gonna throw a couple of our signature sides in, one being the candied sweet potatoes.

The other one being Grandma's collard greens.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah.

Really exciting part of it is we're gonna be able to source everything for this dish right here in our community.

TONY: Right here, first stop we're gonna go to is Local Homestead Products, right in New Windsor, Maryland.

ASHLEY: Yep, come on.

TONY: Let's go.

Hey, Trevor.

TREVOR HOFF: Hey, guys.

So what are we looking for?

TONY: Definitely a pork cut.

TREVOR: We have tons of pork.

First thing I'd show is these bone-in pork chops.

TONY: Oh.

But that's nice.

TREVOR: Let's not make a decision yet, because I've got... ASHLEY: What you got?

TREVOR: ...ribs too.

TONY: Hey, yeah, you know, ribs are definitely something in my wheelhouse.

ASHLEY: Incredible.

TREVOR: But then, last but not least, we have pork tenderloin too.

ASHLEY: That might be a winner, let me see.

TONY: Babe, babe.

ASHLEY: Oh yeah.

TONY: And then, uh, for my sides, I'm thinking maybe some collard greens.

Man... ASHLEY: Those look incredible, they're huge.

TONY: They do; they actually do.

TREVOR: Those are beautiful, aren't they?

TONY: Maybe some sweet potatoes.

ASHLEY: Look.

TONY: I know, I know, just yeah.

ASHLEY: Peppers.

TONY: Yeah, bell pepper.

Those are perfect.

TREVOR: Well, I think we have all that in the store.

ASHLEY: That's what I want to hear.

TONY: Uh, thanks to Trevor and Local Homestead Products for having us today.

ASHLEY: We got everything we need in one place, that's remarkable.

TONY: Not everything.

ASHLEY: Not everything.

TONY: We still have to make one more stop, right?

ASHLEY: Yeah, let's go.

TONY: Let's go.

ASHLEY: Oh, this is so cool.

FARMER: Yeah.

TONY: Oh man, this is great.

FARMER: We can try anything you would like to try and... ASHLEY: Okay.

FARMER: ...tell me a little bit about what you guys are planning with your dish and... TONY: Uh, today I am going to do a pork dish, uh, jerk marinated, you know, for garnish, I want something to just enhance, maybe just a little something I can just kind of sprinkle on top.

FARMER: I, I think our wasabi would be perfect for that.

TONY: Wasabi?

FARMER: Um, yeah, so this is our micro wasabi.

TONY: A little sweetness.

FARMER: Yeah.

ASHLEY: Wow.

FARMER: Yeah, we can harvest some of that for you today.

TONY: Yeah?

ASHLEY: Sweet.

FARMER: Would you like to harvest it?

TONY: Absolutely.

FARMER: Right on.

TONY: Absolutely.

FARMER: Let's do that.

ASHLEY: How cool is this?

This is so cool.

TONY: We did it, high five.

ASHLEY: Boom.

TONY: Teamwork, dream work.

(laughing).

ASHLEY: Hey, everybody.

TONY: Hey, guys.

If you know anything about Collision Courses' journey, you know that we cook in a shoebox.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

TONY: So we're actually gonna go cook at the library.

I know that sounds crazy, but trust me.

ASHLEY: It's gonna be good, I promise.

(vocalizing, laughing).

TONY: You wanna get going?

ASHLEY: Yeah, absolutely.

TONY: Alright.

ASHLEY: Alright.

TONY: So these are our candied sweet potatoes.

Ashley's cutting them right down, down to quarter-inch medallions.

I'm gonna start working on the sweets juice, that's what we call it, we call it sweets juice.

The first thing that we'll add is a half a stick of butter, um, granulated white sugar, quarter cup of brown sugar.

ASHLEY: So we also source our bourbon locally, this is from Covalent Spirits.

TONY: A shot's worth.

ASHLEY: Yeah.

Eh, might have been a little more than a shot.

I guess it depends on the person.

TONY: For the collard greens, what we'll do is peel that stem off.

ASHLEY: This is just to coat the sweet potatoes initially.

So with the collard greens, again, this is one of our signature sides at our restaurant.

They are, uh, inspired by Tony's grandma.

TONY: So, uh, the first thing for the greens that grandma told me, she said, use smoked turkey neck.

ASHLEY: Yep.

TONY: And then I'll just add all these greens right on top of that.

ASHLEY: He's the onion slicer in the house.

We have that in our marriage vows, actually.

I said I would never slice an onion.

TONY: Now we will season them up.

So what we have here is my house blend.

ASHLEY: Trade secret.

TONY: I'm not gonna tell you what's in the house blend.

ASHLEY: It's okay, he doesn't know the recipe anyway.

(laughing).

TONY: And then I'll add a couple of liquids, the apple cider vinegar... ASHLEY: Uh-huh.

TONY: And I'm gonna add a little bit of brown sugar as well.

And then the last thing I'm gonna add in our Instant Pot is two cups of water.

We have that wonderful pork tenderloin today from Local Homestead Products.

All right, so I have a little bit of dry jerk seasoning here.

I'm gonna add that there.

(sizzling).

ASHLEY: Nice sear holding the juice.

TONY: Alright, I have that all seared up, I'm gonna add that to my baking dish.

Go ahead and wrap that up for us tight.

Then I'm gonna add that right to the oven.

ASHLEY: Oh.

TONY: 40 minutes.

ASHLEY: Our sweet potatoes and our pork is now ready.

TONY: Look at that.

ASHLEY: And then last but not least... TONY: The collard greens.

ASHLEY: Boop.

TONY: Grandma's Greens.

Let's get these, uh, pork tenderloin.

ASHLEY: Is it so good?

TONY: Award-winning pork dish, award-winning.

So there you have it, Grandma's Greens with smoked Turkey, our candied sweet potatoes, and then our jerk pork loin.

ASHLEY: You can make this yourself.

You can get the recipe online at mpt.org/farm.

JOANNE: Be sure to check out mpt.org/farm for all our recipes and resources.

Plus, you can watch all “Farm and Harvest” episodes there as well.

Also, don't forget to follow us on social media for show updates, pictures, and videos.

Now hold on, we're not done yet.

Remember our thingamajig?

Did you guess it?

Our hint was you may think this is something out of a horror film, but “hay,” guess again.

This is a hay hook, hay, hay.

Anyway, so this tool would be used to snag a bale of hay and toss it into a feeder or wagon.

Congratulations if you got it right.

Join us next week for another Thingamajig, along with more stories about the diverse, passionate people who feed our state.

I'm Joanne Clendining.

Thanks for watching.

(music plays through credits).

ANNOUNCER: Major funding for "Maryland Farm and Harvest" was made possible in part by... the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board, investing in smarter farming to support safe and affordable food, feed, and fuel, and a healthy Bay.

Additional funding provided by Maryland's Best.

Good for you.

Good for Maryland.

A grant from the Rural Maryland Council, Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Fund, Marbidco, helping to sustain Food and Fiber Enterprise for future generations.

A grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program.

Farm Credit.

Lending Support to Agriculture and Rural America.

The Maryland Soybean Board and Soybean Checkoff Program.

Progress Powered by Farmers.

The Maryland Nursery Landscape and Greenhouse Association, the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts.

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.

The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation.

Promoting the importance of agriculture in our daily lives.

The Maryland Pork Producers Association proudly works to educate consumers and advocate for farmers.

Taste what pork can do.

♪ ♪