Maine Farmcast

Things are getting a little spooky on the Maine Farmcast!In this special Halloween episode, Dr. Colt Knight and Dr. Glenda Pereira trade their usual livestock discussions for something a little more sinister: witches, vampires, werewolves, and the surprisingly strange connections between monster folklore and animal science.From haunted trails in the Appalachian Mountains and the Salem witch trials to hallucination-inducing fungi and the science behind vampire legends, the conversation takes a few unexpected turns before arriving in 18th-century France.There, Colt recounts the terrifying true history of the Beast of Gévaudan, a mysterious predator blamed for more than 100 deaths that baffled hunters, embarrassed the French monarchy, and helped inspire generations of monster storiesWas the beast an unusually large wolf, a wolf-dog hybrid, an escaped exotic animal, or something even stranger? And what do silver bullets, livestock genetics, and animal behavior have to do with any of it?Join Colt and Glenda for a Halloween adventure filled with fascinating history, questionable French pronunciations, plenty of laughs, and just enough animal science to remind everyone this is still an agricultural podcast.Happy Halloween from the Maine Farmcast!University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

What happens when you combine three animal species, two knives, a handsaw, 600 GB of video footage and five years of editing? Apparently, you get Carcass to Cut: The Maine Meat Cutting School.In this episode of Maine Farmcast, Dr. Glenda Pereira turns the tables and interviews co-host Dr. Colt W. Knight about the new 27-video Carcass to Cut series. Colt shares how a pandemic-era meat-cutting school turned into a massive video project featuring beef, pork and lamb breakdowns, from whole carcasses to retail cuts, using equipment that ordinary people can actually afford.Along the way, Colt and Glenda wander through Boston butts that are not actually butts, lamb chops with approximately two bites of meat, tri-tip, picanha, skirt steak, Portuguese pork traditions, brisket burgers and the very important question of whether grinding Wagyu into hamburger is a terrible use of perfectly good beef. They also discuss how producers, homesteaders, hunters, chefs and curious meat eaters can use the series to better understand where cuts come from, how to get more value from a carcass and maybe even save a little money by doing some of the cutting themselves.Watch the full Carcass to Cut: The Maine Meat Cutting School series on YouTubeUniversity of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

In this episode of Maine Farmcast, host Dr. Glenda Pereira talks with University of Maine doctoral candidate Kyle Brennan about his research on sea scallops and aquaculture in Maine. Brennan works in Dr. Tim Bowden's lab, which focuses on disease resistance in oysters and other shellfish, treatments for shellfish diseases and fish immune function. Listeners will learn about the challenges of farming sea scallops, ongoing research at UMaine and Maine's aquaculture industry.University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

This week on Maine Farmcast, Dr. Colt W. Knight takes the podcast on the road for a visit with returning guest Mark King, better known to listeners for his expertise in composting but also a lifelong bat enthusiast and researcher. King shares how one charismatic biology professor changed the direction of his career, eventually leading him to graduate research studying little brown bats and more than three decades of working with bats in Maine.Together they explore why bats are so important to Maine’s ecosystems, the challenges posed by white-nose syndrome and practical ways homeowners can coexist with bats, including the use of bat houses and alternative roosting sites. They also put some common bat myths to the test: Are bats blind? Do they get tangled in your hair? Are they all carrying rabies? Do they really want to suck your blood?Along the way, King shares stories from years of studying bat behavior, working with homeowners and helping people better understand these often-misunderstood nighttime neighbors. If bats make you nervous, this episode might just turn you into a bat fan.University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

In this episode of the Maine Farmcast, host Glenda Pereira sits down with Owen Cortner to discuss his background and how it informs his work as a livestock specialist. Cortner is a livestock specialist with the Division of Animal and Plant Health at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Listeners will learn about silvopasture, animal health, biosecurity and farming in different parts of the world.Contact Maine DACF animal health teamUniversity of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.