Harvesting Rhode Island - New Local Series on Rhode Island PBS

  
Harvesting Rhode Island is a 5-part series that raises public awareness of local farming and the farm-to-table cycle through folk life studies, and by interpreting how this significant way of life on the farm will manage to survive.

Episodes will air two at a time in the ongoing series, Rhode Island Stories, Sundays at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. beginning March 22. UPDATE: All five episodes in this first series are now available online as well. Links are posted below. 

The series explores how traditional systems can be creatively maintained and become more of a dynamic marketplace. Introducing the public to the farmers of Rhode Island will provide insights into the complex but easily taken-for-granted process behind the edibles we consume.

Growers have had to balance the traditional approaches that were handed down to them with the variable realities of today’s business climate. In the latter part of the twentieth century local wholesale markets began to shrink due to large retailers and national distribution systems.

As a result, growers increased their direct marketing through on-site retail stands, pick-your-own programs, farmers markets, and selling through local retailers. This direct approach has, in turn, stimulated diversification to satisfy the eclectic tastes of increasingly sophisticated consumers. A large number of consumers in Rhode Island are unaware of the locations and variety of crops that are grown in the state and where to purchase them.

Harvesting Rhode Island seeks to change that by bringing viewers on location to see the farms, meet the farmers and listen to the farmers' stories.

Farm to Table                                    
Rhode Island PBS       3/22/2015      6:00 PM
Rhode Island PBS       3/24/2015      4:00 AM
Rhode Island PBS       3/28/2015      11:00 PM
LEARN                      3/24/2015      8:00 PM
LEARN                      3/25/2015      3:00 AM
LEARN                      3/26/2015      12:00 AM


   
                     
Grape Expectations               
Rhode Island PBS       3/22/2015      6:30 PM
Rhode Island PBS       3/24/2015      4:30 AM
Rhode Island PBS       3/28/2015      11:30 PM
LEARN                      3/24/2015      8:30 PM
LEARN                      3/25/2015      3:30 AM
LEARN                      3/26/2015      12:30 AM                   




Farming Old, Farming New             
Rhode Island PBS       3/29/2015      6:00 PM
Rhode Island PBS       3/31/2015      4:00 AM
Rhode Island PBS       4/4/2015        11:00 PM
LEARN                      3/31/2015      8:00 PM
LEARN                      4/1/2015        3:00 AM
LEARN                      4/2/2015        12:00 AM



                        
A Tale of Three Nurseries                 
Rhode Island PBS       3/29/2015      6:30 PM
Rhode Island PBS       3/31/2015      4:30 AM
Rhode Island PBS       4/4/2015        11:30 PM
LEARN                      3/31/2015      8:30 PM
LEARN                      4/1/2015        3:30 AM
LEARN                      4/2/2015        12:30 AM




                        
Farm City                   
Rhode Island PBS       4/5/2015        6:00 PM
Rhode Island PBS       4/7/2015        4:00 AM
Rhode Island PBS       4/11/2015      11:00 PM
LEARN                      4/7/2015        8:00 PM
LEARN                      4/8/2015        3:00 AM
LEARN                      4/9/2015        12:00 AM



UPDATED: March 13, 2015
UPDATED: April 5, 2015
UPDATED: April 6, 2015

Orchards in the Ocean State: Apple Growing in Rhode Island

Orchards in the Ocean State: Apple Growing in Rhode Island notes the continued success of Rhode Island farmers in a business that is inherently risky and fraught with economic uncertainty. Growers have had to balance the traditional approaches handed down to them from their parents and grandparents with the realities of today’s business climate.

Rhode Island PBS premieres the film on Sunday, September 29 at 6 p.m. as part of its ongoing series, Rhode Island Stories.

Orchards in the Ocean State follows apple growers over a ten-year period to show how this historically significant way of life in Rhode Island - which seemed on the brink of extinction a few short years ago - has managed to survive and thrive. The film, produced by Alexander Caserta, showcases how Rhode Island farmers respond to changing technology and markets with resourceful adaptation.

For the past several years, Americans have been turning away from highly processed foods in favor of fresh whole foods picked when they are ripe, tasty, and at peak nutritional value. Informed consumers are buying produce from farmers markets and local produce stands, and availing themselves of seasonal pick-your-own opportunities. Consumers who are aware of the issues facing local farmers choose to support them because they realize that keeping the farms viable means preserving the rural character and open space of much of our state. Moreover, consumers realize that supporting local growers helps the economy of the entire state.

These shifts in consumer and farming trends combine to help local fruit growers remain in business and prosper. For the first time in decades, their children and grandchildren are confident that they can carry on the family business.