JOANNE CLENDINING: From the eastern shore to the western mountains, Maryland is a growth industry.

Did you know, farming safety has to be priority one?

That a Maryland festival has a giant frying pan?

And your family will go hog-wild over pasture-raised pork?

Don't go anywhere, stories about the people who work the land and feed our state are coming up next on "Maryland Farm and Harvest."

NARRATOR: 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 Check Off program, progress powered by farmers.

Wegmans Food Markets, healthier, better lives through food.

The Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts.

The Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association.

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated.

The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.

Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences.

And by... (theme music playing).

(bird chirping).

JOANNE: I can bet you're not surprised to hear that agriculture is Maryland's number one industry.

Hi, I'm Joanne Clendining, welcome to "Maryland Farm and Harvest".

It makes sense when you think about it, agriculture is this large umbrella that covers a vast array of farm types, from grain growers to livestock raisers.

Even this horse farm is part of the mix.

Church Hill Farm in Hydes, Maryland holds a special place under the shade of that agriculture umbrella.

Its mission is to give underserved communities a chance to experience the sport of horseback riding and to celebrate farm life.

Coming up, an Eastern Shore celebration that marks 100 years of farming's favorite feathered friend.

But first, we know a farmer's life can be fraught with challenges, it's a career path not for the faint of heart, especially when you factor in the dangers farmers encounter on an almost daily basis.

We take a closer look at how farm accidents have upended families, and in some instances, taken lives.

♪ ♪ It was harvest time at Branchwater Farms in Reisterstown.

Like most grain and cattle operations, November is a busy, yet rewarding time of the year.

Owner Hank Suchting was getting the last of the day's corn harvest under cover when the unimaginable happened.

DOREEN SUCHTING: I was getting stuff for Hank at Walmart and I get a phone call, which was, the worst call of my life.

JOANNE: The forecast was calling for rain and Hank and his farmhands were covering the corn dryer with a tarp, a task they had done a thousand times before.

DOREEN: Hank was on a ladder and as he was coming down the ladder, he missed the bottom rung of the ladder.

His foot went in the corn they said.

And he just went backwards and he hit the back of his neck on the outer part of the dryer.

And it was just that simple, I just have to thank God he died doing what he loved the most.

JOANNE: Farming is one of the most dangerous professions in the U.S., with a fatality rate seven times the national average.

But, despite that statistic, farming was the only life Hank Suchting ever wanted.

DOREEN: 1979 my husband bought this piece of property, there was nothing here, except fields and a lot of woods.

So everything you seen here we have done, stick by stick.

JOANNE: Hank and Doreen, along with their children Jimmy and Deedra, built something to be proud of and created memories that only farm life can give.

DEEDRA PRIGEL: He was just a good dad, he was always there.

We showed cattle and hogs and 4H growing up, county fairs, state fairs.

Growing up, you know, they lived where they worked so we were with them, all day.

Riding in a combine, showing cattle with Dad, you couldn't ask for more.

JOANNE: Since 2012, farming accidents have accounted for over 1500 fatalities.

And in 2020 alone, there were over 11,000 injuries.

It's an unfortunate reality that many Maryland farmers experience firsthand.

Joe McHenry and Jenell Eck met in the Future Farmers of America and they knew they wanted to build a farm and a family together.

JENELL ECK McHENRY: One, two... what's after two?

LEE McHENRY: Three.

JENELL: Three!

JOANNE: It's a beautiful love story, but sometimes, even the best stories can have their challenges.

JOEY McHENRY: It was a normal morning, I left the house about 6:30 in the morning, we had about two weeks of terrible harvesting conditions, so we were behind.

I was stressed out.

And for some reason I was looking, looking to see what the dew looked like on the soybeans, and the next thing that I knew was the tractor had fell off the lip of the road a little bit.

JOANNE: Joey hit fresh gravel and the rear end of the tractor kicked out and flipped in the ditch.

JOEY: I remember seeing the yellow line and when I remember seeing that, I don't know whether I yanked the wheel or what happened, um, but, that's the last thing I remember until I woke up.

JOANNE: For Jenell, who arrived on the scene as her husband was being loaded onto an ambulance, the memories are still fresh.

JENELL: They put him on the backboard and they shipped him into the ambulance, I asked the good Lord to keep him breathing with no brain injuries, so, that's what I got.

JOANNE: Among the many injuries Joey suffered were a broken pelvis, dislodged spine, puncture wound, and internal bleeding.

He would spend the next 37 days in the hospital before moving to rehab.

Joey's recovery is nothing short of miraculous and is a testament to faith and fortitude.

But stories like Joey's and Hank's remind us how dangerous farming can be.

BRIAN FREESE: Agriculture is statistically one of the most dangerous occupations in America.

JOANNE: Brian Freese is a safety and rescue instructor for the National Educational Center for Agricultural Safety.

BRIAN: You think about all the things that we're working around: confinements, animal feeding operations, just the hazardous equipment in general, the grain production, it all adds up to potentially hazardous events.

JOANNE: That's why the AG community is working hard to save lives through programs like the Grain Bin Safety Campaign.

Which supplies fire companies with grain rescue tubes and training.

BRIAN: Yep, right there, yep, the whole thing.

FIREFIGHTER: Right there.

BRIAN: If we have a farmer or a co-op worker, somebody gets trapped in the grain.

We can put this tube in around them, it keeps them from getting enveloped in the grain.

We can evacuate the grain out of the inside of the tube and then we can get that victim out.

People are usually very, very surprised if they start sinking in grain how quickly it happens.

Honestly, the key is the education, if we can talk to the farmers, at least help them understand these hazards, maybe we can prevent some of these things from happening.

JOANNE: Since the program began, 272 tubes have been delivered nationwide and 37 victims were rescued.

But it will take vigilance and determination to reach the goal of zero deaths, so our farmers can spend the time doing what's most important.

JOEY: Being here with Lee, it, it really, it hits home.

It's what every farm father wants, you know, you want your next generation to be there with you, makes it worth it.

JOANNE: Brian Freese continues to travel across the country preparing firefighters for a day they hope never comes.

We thank him and the countless number of farmers for their dedication.

And did you know, that because fall harvest time can be the most dangerous season of the year?

The third week of September has been recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week.

♪ ♪ All right, it's time to put your agricultural thinking cap on.

Here is our thingamajig for the week.

Do you think you know what it is?

Well, here's a hint, this tool will come in handy when you're looking to get a close shave.

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

Okay, yep, farmers are a hardworking bunch.

But one thing's for sure, farm communities know how to put on a festival.

We ventured down to the lower Eastern Shore where the Delmarva Chicken Association knows how to cock-a-doodle-do it right.

(tractor engine).

♪ ♪ Salisbury, Maryland is no stranger to fun festivals and good eats.

But the likes of this one hasn't been seen for almost a decade.

Welcome to the Delmarva Chicken Festival, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the meat chicken industry.

ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon chicken enthusiasts.

HOLLY PORTER: We are here to celebrate 100 years of growing chicken on Delmarva by bringing back the iconic Delmarva Chicken Festival.

And we're going to celebrate the chicken industry here on Delmarva.

JOANNE: It's a grand party that started in 1948 and went 65 years before its last one in 2014.

There's crafts, trains, and chicks for the kids.

Plus lots of music.

And, of course, chicken.

They even brought back the original 10-foot skillet.

Although it's being used as a photo op, not broiling.

(chicken call).

That's being handled by the Salisbury Lions Club, using their five-footer.

But keeping the recipe... SCOTT LEE: It's a secret, it's a secret breading.

If I tell you the recipe then I'll have to, I'll have to kill ya.

(laughing).

JOANNE: They wouldn't even tell Maryland's Agriculture Secretary.

KEVIN ATTICKS: They would not share their secret spice recipe, but we're guessing it's just real simple because it is so good and it is some of the best fried chicken that I've ever had.

JOANNE: And by the look of this line, we'll be waiting awhile.

Looks like a perfect time to slip into the history tent to find out how this whole thing got started.

Which was kind of a big mistake.

And you can thank this woman, Cecile Steele of Ocean View, Delaware for today's chicken, the festival, and the billion-dollar industry that she helped start.

Back in 1923, chickens weren't grown for meat, but rather for their eggs.

On family farms, extra eggs would be sold in town for extra income.

Which is why Cecile Steele ordered 50 chicks from a local hatchery.

When 500 chicks were delivered, she did what any farm wife would do, she got her husband to build more sheds and, she raised them for meat.

After a few months, Steele had 387 surviving chickens weighing about two and a quarter to two and a half pounds, which she sold for 62 cents on the pound, about $11 a pound in today's dollars.

HOLLY: So like any smart woman, she said bring me 1,000 chickens the next time.

And that is really the transition and when we started to raise chickens for meat instead of for eggs, within three years she was raising 10,000 chickens and there were a number of other farms that were doing the same as well too.

JOANNE: Today, that little operation, has grown into a 4.8 billion dollar industry.

Supporting over 4,000 broiler houses, over 18,000 employees, and 1300 Delmarva family farms.

Families like Andrew McClean of Centreville, Maryland who raises organic birds for Perdue.

ANDREW McCLEAN: They get to eat the grass, the bugs, that's why I planted the peach trees, I don't like peaches, but the uh chickens like to eat peaches and the chickens like to eat the bugs that eat the peaches.

There's about four and a half jobs for each chicken house, so this little operation that I pretty much run myself still employs another 25 or so people.

That's a huge driver in a rural area like Delmarva.

ZACH EVANS: So when I think about the stewards that raise our food today, and the way that they raise that chicken, they continue to improve best practices on the farm when it comes to the animal management.

HOLLY: There are a number of regulations that our farmers go through, especially to protect our Delmarva and our Chesapeake Bay which is so important to all the people that live here on Delmarva as well too.

JOANNE: Regulations are a big difference from 100 years ago.

ANDREW: Hi boys and girls.

JOANNE: But they protect the Bay and the birds.

ANDREW: One of the biggest things that we always get is people are concerned that there are hormones and steroids in chickens.

There are no hormones and steroids in chickens.

It's illegal number one and number two, it really doesn't work.

What you're seeing in the chicken today is breeding and feeding and the right conditions.

HOLLY: So really, it's about people feeding people, that's what our chicken community's all about.

ZACH: And so, I just believe that this industry continues to evolve the way that all industries have to because we've got to do more with less, we've got to feed more people, and we're feeding people all over the world today with Delmarva's chicken.

JOANNE: Now that's a great reason to celebrate.

CHEF: That's how we do that.

JOANNE: This 100th-anniversary chicken festival is a one-time event, but you never know, so go ahead and pencil in a 125th-anniversary chicken festival on your 2048 calendars, because this chicken is so good, if you get in line now, you might get some.

♪ ♪ Well, the Delmarva Chicken Festival finally answered the age-old question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Apparently to jump in that giant frying pan.

Coming up, pasture-raised pork, fresh okra, and squash blossoms are a chef's fanciful finds.

But first, a bountiful harvest can mean fruits and veggies all year long.

But how?

One of the best ways is canning, both "Then and Now."

♪ ♪ In 1795 French troops fought battles in Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany.

But no matter their location, their persistent hunger remained the same.

The military desperately needed a stable food source so the French government devised a contest with a 12,000 franc prize.

The winning idea was food stored in sealed airtight bottles and preserved with heat.

What we know today as canning.

Later during the World Wars, canning helped put a lid on another problem, this time here in the United States.

Food shortages and rationing led families to grow their own produce in "Victory Gardens".

And they canned at home to prolong the life of their crops.

In 1943, home canning hit its peak with over 4.1 billion jars canned.

These billions of jars brought green beans and corn into the winter months but carried risks as well.

There were dangerous practices, like oven canning, which caused jars to explode and there was the life-threatening toxin botulism, which can still be a problem today.

Botulism occurs in canned low-acid foods, heated to less than 240 degrees.

Pressure canning, a safer method, that uses pressure and steam to heat cans to 240 degrees solved both of these problems.

When World War II ended, so did rationing, and in 1946, Americans returned to buying canned food at the grocery store.

But in recent years, as gardening and buying locally have become more popular, so has home canning.

77% of gardeners can freeze or dehydrate part of their crop, preserving prized produce and an American tradition.

On this week's "Farm to Skillet" Chef Keema Johnson heads to the Bel Air Farmers Market to find everything she needs to make a family favorite that's fresh and easy, but with a flowery finish.

♪ ♪ KEEMA JOHNSON: Hi, y'all, I'm Chef Keema, I'm a private chef here in Bel Air, Maryland and I'm going to be showing you how to make one of my favorite dishes, pan-seared pork chops with a side of okra and stuffed squash blossoms and I'm going to be getting all of my product here at Bel Air's Farmers Market.

Ready to shop?

Let's go!

VENDOR: Yep.

KEEMA: Hey Mike, how're you doing today?

MIKE: Hey Chef.

KEEMA: I am looking to do some pork today, I'm not sure if I want to do pork steak or pork chop.

What do you have today?

MIKE: Now this is the pork steak.

KEEMA: Mm-hm.

MIKE: It's a fresh ham steak, it's got the bone in it.

KEEMA: Okay.

MIKE: And these are the chops right here.

KEEMA: These are bone-in?

MIKE: Yes, they're bone in, yep.

KEEMA: Okay.

Oh, I like that right there.

MIKE: You like these right here?

KEEMA: Yes.

MIKE: Okay.

KEEMA: That's gonna be perfect.

MIKE: There you go.

KEEMA: Thanks so much!

Oh, it smells so sweet.

These look delicious.

BECKY: Good morning!

KEEMA: Hey, Becky.

BECKY: How are you, Chef?

Good to see you this morning.

KEEMA: Good to see you.

So I am looking for some like fresh okra today.

BECKY: So we just picked it yesterday.

KEEMA: Mm-hm.

BECKY: And we have some is a little bigger, some's a little smaller.

KEEMA: Oh my gosh, squash blossoms.

BECKY: Yes, we have squash blossoms.

Now the, the.

What are you gonna do with these?

KEEMA: I'm gonna stuff them and fry them.

BECKY: What are you gonna stuff them with?

KEEMA: Some Boursin cheese.

BECKY: Nice, nice.

KEEMA: It's very underappreciated.

BECKY: I think so too.

So, in the tomato department, I got a lot of heirlooms, but these cherry tomatoes are beautiful.

KEEMA: Oh, fresh is best, right?

BECKY: That's the sweetest tomato on the table.

KEEMA: Oh my gosh.

I like this tier.

BECKY: Excellent, let me find you a bag for that one.

Well thank you so much.

KEEMA: Thank you very much.

BECKY: And have a great week, I'll see you next week, and good luck with the succotash.

KEEMA: Thank you very much, see you next weekend.

VENDOR: There you are.

KEEMA: All right folks, I had a great time here at Bel Air's Farmers Market, my basket is full and now I have all the ingredients I need so let's get cooking.

♪ ♪ Hey folks, welcome to my kitchen.

Look at all the great produce that I got from the farmers market today in Bel Air.

We're gonna start with our succotash.

So I got our fresh okra, we got some corn and we have some tomatoes.

So we're gonna get ready to do the stuffed squash blossoms.

I am using my favorite soft cheese, you can use whatever you like, goat cheese, gournay cheese, whatever you prefer.

And a piping bag is best because you can actually nestle it right into it.

We got some center-cut pork chops.

So I'm gonna season this up pretty simply with some salt, some pepper, and then chili powder, I can't live without chili powder.

Dark chili powder, it's like, it's my go-to for a lot of things.

And we're gonna flip it and do the same thing to the other side.

And there we go.

We're gonna add a little grapeseed oil to our pan.

Always lay it down going away from you.

I'm going to go ahead and add some bacon fat so we can go ahead and start the succotash.

That's gonna add so much flavor to the succotash already.

And for this, you're just really waiting for everything to kind of come together, it doesn't take that long.

For the pork chop, we're just waiting for a nice golden color.

So they're probably just gonna need about four minutes or so on each side.

It's sizzling the way we want.

Oh yeah, look at that, it's bubbling.

Squash blossoms do not need a lot of time.

We're talking like two minutes or less, okay?

Remember they are delicate.

Okay, so I'm gonna take this pork out now to rest.

Look at that color, you see?

That's all you really need for the squash blossoms.

Everything is nice and crispy.

If you notice this really did not take that long so you can go out there to the market, do your shopping, get back home, have something done in like the nick of time.

All these fresh ingredients, you really don't have to cook them forever.

So we have our pork chop.

And this delicious succotash.

Add in a couple of these squash blossoms and here we go.

Your family's gonna love it, you're gonna love it, super simple, very tasteful.

Okay, I might be a little bit biased, but I'm also pretty honest and this is delicious, okay?

Everything in one bite, I got my tomato, my okra, and my corn.

Mm.

Now, I have to try this squash blossom.

Oh my goodness, that is so good.

mpt.org/farm get the recipe, try it for yourself, keep it tasteful.

Peace.

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 that this tool will come in handy when you're looking to get a close shave.

This is an ice shaver.

You use this tool on a block of ice.

You run it across the top and the blade will shave the ice and the shavings end up in here.

And you have shaved ice ready for a snow cone or drink.

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 playing through credits).

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: 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 Check Off program, progress powered by farmers.

Wegmans Food Markets, healthier, better lives through food.

The Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts.

The Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association.

The Maryland Farm Bureau Incorporated.

The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment.

Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences.

And by... (bird chirping).

♪ ♪