* HOST: From the field to the water, agriculture is everywhere.

Did you know that you can build a house out of straw, that growing flowers can help grow business, and that this Maryland delicacy can take a lot of patience?

Don't go anywhere.

Stories about the people who grow our food and more 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...

Rural Maryland Council, a collective voice for rural Maryland... MARBIDCO: Helping to sustain food and fiber enterprise for future generations... A grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program... Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit: Lending Support to Agriculture and Rural America... Brought to you in part by a donation, from the Cornell Douglas Foundation...

The Maryland Soybean Board and Soybean Checkoff Program: Progress Powered by Farmers... Wegmans Food Market: Healthier, better lives through food...

The Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts... And by...

The Maryland Nursery Landscape and Greenhouse Association...

The Maryland Seafood Marketing Fund...

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated...

The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment... And by... Closed Captioning has been made possible by Maryland Relay, empowering those who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled to stay connected by phone.

* HOST: Good boy.

This is Jim, and this is Jack.

And if you can come to the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster, you can meet these two friendly boys for yourself.

Hi, I'm Joanne Clendining and this is Maryland Farm and Harvest .

Today's show is filled with interesting stories with unusual twists.

Coming up, see how one of the hottest things to harvest these days are photographs.

But first, if you remember the story of "The Three Little Pigs," you probably think building a house out of straw is a bad idea.

However, it turns out this surprising material can be both strong and sustainable.

* MARIJKE TORSF: It's addictive.

I thought, we would build one building, that would be it.

JOANNE: But Marijke Torsf is hooked.

MARIJKE: We are building the new, the farmers, the caretaker house.

And as with the main lodge, we are building most of it out of straw bale.

JOANNE: After her first brush with this natural building material, Marijke couldn't get enough of it.

Plus, it's the perfect choice for construction here at Zigbone Farm Retreat.

Overlooking the beautiful rolling hills of Frederick County, this peaceful oasis is a place to experience both indoors and out.

MARIJKE: It's like agritourism.

So, we have our animals and we have vegetables, and we have retreats, and weddings.

JOANNE: Marijke is committed to sustainable practices on her 100 acre farm in Sabillasville, down to every brick in the wall.

Well, in this case, every bale.

MARIJKE: We use all recycled materials.

The most innovative part of it is what you can see here is we're building with straw bales.

JOANNE: Over the years, Marijke has drawn inspiration from her architect, Sigi Koko, who's been designing green homes for 25 years, including the two dwellings here on the farm.

SIGI KOKO: Just on every level, it makes more sense to me.

It's more energy efficient.

It's less toxic.

They feel good.

When people step into a natural home for the first time, you can hear audible sighs.

You hear people go haaa.

JOANNE: Today, Marijke breathes a sigh of relief as the tractor from Scenic View Farms, just a few miles up the road, pulls in with the straw bales they need.

SIGI: And they're harvesting this little seed head on top of a stalk, be it wheat, oat, barley.

And that stalk is an agricultural waste product.

JOANNE: Typically, straw ends up as animal bedding or is used for landscaping, but Marijke will use these fuzzy building blocks for her latest project.

The home will take months to complete.

While, the walls will be built out of straw, the entire roof has to be installed before they can start stacking the bales.

SIGI: The nemesis of a fuzzy biodegradable material is water.

So, you don't want water to get on the inside of that straw bale wall.

And so, having the roof on and dried in is paramount.

JOANNE: A few weeks later, the next phase is in full swing.

The bales are ready to be plugged in, but first they need to be inspected.

SIGI: A good straw bale is tight, dry, preferably clean, and preferably rectilinear.

JOANNE: Constructing with bales is like putting a puzzle together, all the pieces have to squeeze into place around the wooden frame.

This requires notches to be sawed and the bales to be tightly tied.

SIGI: The tools are very simple, very inexpensive, very low tech way of constructing.

One row goes in, the next row alternates, they get pinned together, usually with bamboo or wood.

JOANNE: From an environmental standpoint, it's a win-win situation.

As a byproduct from harvesting grain, straw is a green, or technically yellow, building material.

And by using it, Marijke helps support her fellow farmers.

SIGI: They bale that straw and now sell it as insulation.

You're giving them another income source.

So, it's beneficial to the farmer and you're supporting your local economy.

The second piece is that you're creating this super insulated bubble.

JOANNE: When completed, the straw we'll provide is good, if not better insulation than many store bought materials, making it easier for Marijke to heat and cool this space.

The result, lower energy usage and lower bills.

SIGI: The insulation value is measured by something called "R resistance to thermal flow."

So, how quickly does heat flow from one side of a wall system to another.

And the bigger the R value, the more resistance to that thermal flow you have.

And the building code currently for Model Energy Building Code in Maryland is R19.

JOANNE: Once, these walls are up, the R value will be between 36 and 48, around double what the building code requires.

It all depends on how they're stacked and plastered.

MARIJKE: There's an inside process and an outside process.

The material we use for outside is different than inside because it has to be, it has to repel the rain.

So outside, we plaster with lime.

It's a mixture of lime and mason sand.

JOANNE: Marijke will apply three layers to the exterior walls, but she has to wait 72 hours between each application.

For the third batch, she'll add pigment to give it color.

Once, they complete the electric work, Marijke is ready to plaster the inside of the home with clay.

[mixing the clay] This time around, she has an extra pair of hands to help.

The final touches call for an additional ingredient.

They stir finely chopped straw into a thick clay that will smooth out the wall.

SIGI: We're going to use this as a plaster on top of the straw that has just a thin coating of clay already on it.

There's just something about building a wall or plastering a wall with clay that feels right and feels empowering.

JOANNE: Constructing with straw is a long and labor-intensive job.

But as Marijke says, "it's also addicting."

MARIJKE: I really enjoy creating things.

It's definitely worth it.

And here you really have, you have a connection to the material and what you're creating.

* JOANNE: All right.

It's time to test your agricultural expertise.

Here is our Thingamajig for the week.

Do you think you know what it is?

Well, here's a hint.

It's shaped like a duck, but it can't swim.

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

If you follow Maryland Farm and Harvest on Facebook, you already know about our farm photo challenges, where viewers send in pictures for different themes.

This week, the subject is farm families.

Enjoy.

* Maryland farms are well-known for agritourism activities like, corn mazes and pumpkin patches, but farmers are a creative bunch and they're always looking for new ways to attract more customers.

See how one Baltimore County farm found success on the sunny side.

* JOAN MILLER: Have a lot of people come and they say, "They're having a horrible day."

They walk through the flowers and they say, "Oh, it just fixed us."

JOANNE: Look at a field of golden sunflowers and it's easy to see why people love them.

The pretty petals, the positive presence.

Their draw is almost irresistible.

And for Miller's Farm in White Hall, that's exactly why they grew them.

GARY MILLER: We milked cows.

We were dairy farmers.

We did that up until about 14 years ago.

Then, we stopped milking cows and went to just corn, and soy beans.

And then, my son got the idea of having this meat market.

JAKE MILLER: My parents really wanted us all to go to college and all the way through school and just being around friends and stuff like that.

We always used to sell beef by the quarters and halves.

Everybody I always talked to said it was the best meat they ever had.

I also knew that not everybody has the ability to buy a half of a steer.

Once I came home, I knew we had to have supplemental income.

My brother and I both said we could put a store up, sell meat, individual pieces of it.

Trying to think of ways to get more people in here, we decided to try planting the sunflowers.

And it was a hit.

JOANNE: It wasn't just a hit.

It was a home run.

The five-acre patch acts as a giant billboard drawing in customers from the two roads adjacent to the farm.

JAKE: Our sales probably go up 20 to 30 percent the three weeks that we have them.

JOANNE: The field's photogenic nature also makes Miller's Farm very popular on social media, resulting in even more free advertising.

However, growing a sunflower field this big is no easy feat.

But after four years, the Millers have developed a pretty good process.

JAKE: We have to have the field prep.

It's got to be smooth, cleared off.

Typically, you'll have to spray it once to make sure there's no obnoxious weeds coming in.

The same planter we use for planting the corn, we'll fill it up with sunflower seeds, planting around 30,000 to 32,000 seeds to the acre.

GARY: No matter what you do, you can do it all right, and if God doesn't send the rain and the sunshine, you're lost.

It's all up to mother nature.

JOANNE: This year, mother nature was kind.

The Millers grew two sets of flowers, timing the second to bloom during pumpkin season, which is peak time for agritourism in Maryland.

JAKE: Once...they're up, you get to enjoy it at that point.

We get to sit back and enjoy what we've done.

JOANNE: And it seems everyone enjoys it, from artists, and photographers to young couples, and families.

[children in the background] JENNIFER WONG: We were just driving to where we needed to go.

And Elliot said, "Hey, look at that, check that out."

I was like, "Oh my gosh, we should stop here."

ELLIOT: Right when we were doing it, the sun's coming out.

So, I was like, it was just perfect.

MADISON BLUEBAUGH: It kind of just brings out like, joy.

It's really nice to have the sunflower field super close to home because it's something you can just go and take a short drive for a quick day trip.

Or like we did, we came here to take pictures.

KATE HOLTSCHNEIDER: It definitely is important to have something relaxing to do with the kids.

Perfect.

Just makes my day, so much better.

SARAH COSTELLO: What's not to like about the sunflowers?

I like to just walk around and take pictures of them, and enjoy them.

It's like a form of self-care.

ELLIOT: Everyone should stop by and walk through the sunflowers.

JOANNE: And for just a few dollars, anyone can do just that.

Plus, they get to pick a flower of their own to keep.

While, the Millers appreciate the extra income, growing this crop is about more than just business.

JOAN: My favorite part about the sunflower field is making people happy.

It's just so nice to come out every morning and see it.

It's just so beautiful.

GARY: One of our signs is, "Take a Hike and Be Happy."

How can you walk out in the sunflower field and be sad?

JOANNE: Here's a fun connection.

The Jerusalem artichokes that we featured in our special holiday episode are actually a type of sunflower.

To watch that story and more, visit our YouTube channel.

MAN: There's one down there... JOANNE: Coming up on The Local Buy, Al Spoler goes crabbing.

But before we go to Al, whether a friend, parent, or teacher, we can all point to someone who gave us life-changing advice.

We asked some folks to share this special wisdom with us on this week's Ask a Farmer.

* SAM PARKER: My dad used to tell me, make sure that I go get the crop that I have before I worry about the crop that I might have.

So, a lot of times, I find myself in that dilemma where maybe I need to harvest some corn, but at same time I need to be planting some wheat.

And I always go back to that rule of thumb, go get what you've got before you worry about what you might have.

KAYLA GRIFFITH: Best piece of farming advice I've ever received is that when you're just starting out, you don't need to know exactly what you want to do, but you want to have a good short-term and long-term plan.

On the farm, in the short term, we need to make sure we have money to continue to go to the next year, but we also want to make sure that we're creating a sustainable future for ourselves and for the next generation.

JOSH ERNST: So, the best advice I've ever received as a farmer is adapt or die.

As farming becomes bigger and bigger, it seems like the small farms are fading away in today's society.

And the guys who seem to do the same things over and over again, it becomes harder for those generations to survive.

And that's one thing that I think my family has done to be able to keep farming.

If something isn't working, we add something new and a little twist where we can capture that margin, and be able to keep maintaining profitability.

JOANNE: People in our state are known around the world for our love of crabs.

But what if you want that sweet succulent taste without all the messy work it takes to crack open those hard shells?

Well, Al Spoler investigates the softer side of this Maryland delicacy for this week's Local Buy.

Al.

* AL SPOLER: They say, "The first person to ever eat a soft shell crab must have been very brave."

Well, now that we know how good they are, you don't have to be brave, just hungry.

We're down here in Calvert County to visit Patuxent River Seafood, a family-owned business who makes it their business to keep the soft shells coming.

Waterman Jason Williams works year round with his parents, his sister and her husband fishing the Bay and its tributaries.

Today, he's invited me to tag along as he goes hunting for soft shell crabs.

Jason is looking for peelers, crabs that are just about to shed their old shells and emerge tender and soft shelled.

JASON WILLIAMS: There's quite a few different ways to catch peelers.

I think, I have a very unique way of doing it.

AL: His technique is to scour the sunken limbs of fallen trees, a favorite hangout for mating crabs.

[boat motor noise] JASON: The creeks are the best chance for the crabs to go and find shelter when they're shedding.

It gives them protection from bigger predators out in the river and the Bay.

So, it works well for me with a smaller boat.

I can find them in their habitat where they're about to do their thing.

AL: Jason relies on his uncanny eyesight to peer beneath the surface.

JASON: I just kind of learned how to look for shapes and colors underwater.

And in my brain, it triggers I should go back or I should try to catch that.

I can usually discern by the color and the shape, and the way the crab's sitting whether it's a male or a female or a doubler, or even a peeler or a soft crab.

Al, right there, if you look on that branch in the water, sitting on top of it.

AL: You got him.

Wow.

Jason looks especially hard for doublers or pairs of mating crabs that like to cling to the branches.

We keep at it, snagging crabs by ones and twos.

Hunting them down isn't the easiest way to land a catch.

JASON: No, it was a small guy.

I like the hunt of the each individual crab.

I have to see it to catch it versus having the crab come to me in a pot or maybe a trotline.

There's one right there.

AL: Where?

Oh, right in there.

Yeah.

[water splashing from catch] The hours go by and our baskets fill up.

Time to head home and sort the catch.

Back at the dock, we head straight for the molting tanks.

JASON: I'm going to cull through them and separate them into be the Rank tank and then the Green tank.

AL: The Rank crabs are just hours away from molting.

The aggressive Green crabs still have several days to go.

They've got to be kept separate.

Jason teaches me how to tell them apart.

Oh, look at the difference.

This is just very pale, much darker.

So this one's getting closer.

JASON: This one's further along.

This one's actually very far along.

AL: The molting process is nearly miraculous.

The blue crab squeezes out of their old shell and emerges about one inch bigger all around.

This exhausting process can take hours, especially if a crab's legs, claws, or back fins get stuck inside the old shell.

You can almost sense their relief when they finally slip loose.

At this point, the crab's new shell is extremely soft.

It all requires constant vigilance.

Unless the crabs are quickly harvested, their new shells will begin to harden underwater.

Jason's family crowds around the tanks to check out what's going on.

Despite the challenge of the work, Jason's dad, Steven, loves it.

STEVEN WILLIAMS: Very satisfying to do this, to live off the Bay, to work the Bay and the river.

And working with my family makes it that much better.

AL: And working as a family has its advantages.

RACHEL WILLIAMS: It's great.

I love to see them getting up and being alongside of us every day.

And you know, if they can keep going, it shows me I can keep going.

AL: And that's not all.

ELAINE WILLIAMS: The best part of the soft shell business is eating them.

AL: And whipping up a mess of soft shell crab sandwiches is a family specialty.

It starts with Elaine cleaning the crabs and covering them with a specialty seasoned breading.

Then, it's into the deep fryer under Steven's watchful eye.

Elaine, it's mighty nice of you all to put together this beautiful soft shell crab sandwich for me to enjoy.

And this is the Williams family secret recipe, correct?

ELAINE: Yes, it is.

AL: And I understand there's a secret ingredient that makes it even better.

ELAINE: That's our homegrown tomatoes in our own garden.

AL: And right here they are.

And they look like they're heirloom tomatoes.

ELAINE: They are.

AL: Because I see a Cherokee Purple right on top.

This is, these are beautiful.

I'm going to have a bite of this.

And I'm going to warn you.

I'm going to eat the whole thing.

So, I want you to tell me what goes into the breading mix that you put on the crabs.

ELAINE: I start with my seafood flour.

I add my corn meal.

I add lemon pepper, my salt, and pepper, and last but not least, my Old Bay.

AL: It's gorgeous.

Really, really nice.

And it's amazing how good the tomato makes it taste.

What I'd like to do is put the recipe for your breading on our website, so people can try it at home.

That'll be at mpt.org/farm.

For The Local Buy, I'm Al Spoler.

Joanne.

JOANNE: Thanks, Al.

Visit mpt.org/farm to get all our Local Buy recipes.

And you can watch full episodes online 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 that it's shaped like a duck, but it can't swim.

This is an antique boot scraper.

A farmer could mount this to his front porch, so people could scrape the mud off their feet before coming inside.

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.

Closed Captioning has been made possible by Maryland Relay, empowering those with hearing and speech loss to stay connected.

* 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.

Rural Maryland Council, a collective voice for rural Maryland.

MARBIDCO: Helping to sustain food and fiber enterprise for future generations... A grant from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program... Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit: Lending Support to Agriculture and Rural America... Brought to you in part by a donation, from the Cornell Douglas Foundation.

The Maryland Soybean Board and Soybean Checkoff Program: Progress Powered by Farmers... Wegmans Food Market: Healthier, better lives through food...

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

The Maryland Seafood Marketing Fund...

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated...

The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment... And by... *