On this episode of the Maine Farmcast, we have a special treat. On November 11, 2024, the University of Maine campus in Orono hosted a group of Maine 4-H Ag Ambassadors. On their tour of campus, they stopped by my lab, The Maine Grazing Behavior Lab, to see what a State Livestock Specialist and Associate Extension Professor does on a day-to-day basis. While they were here, they participated in a fun activity where they learned more about pork and swine anatomy. I thought it would be fun to invite the kids into the “under construction” podcast studio to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into making a podcast.
The Maine 4-H Agriculture Ambassadors Program is intended for youth ages 14-18 and provides them with the opportunity to connect to local agriculture, build relationships with industry professionals, develop professional and advocacy skills, and explore careers in agriculture. Following completion of a 6-week training, participants serve a year long term as a member of a Maine 4-H Agriculture Ambassador team in an area of their choosing. Ambassador teams participate in 4-6 events throughout the year where they represent the Maine 4-H program and educate others about their chosen content area. The goal of the Maine 4-H Ag Ambassador Program is to provide experiences for youth to explore their interest in agriculture. The program focuses on:
connecting youth with their local food systems and industries
exploring the richness and diversity of the Maine food system
developing “ag-vocacy” skills
increasing access to career and post-secondary opportunities in agri-science and food system
If you would like to learn more about the program, please visit:
4-H staff members Tara Marble, Sadee Mehuren, Megan Cook, Alisha Targonski, and Allison Pollock, are responsible for leading the Maine 4-H Agricultural Ambassador program. To contact the team please email: extension.4hagleadership@maine.edu.
In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 412, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5713, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).
Chapters
On this episode of the Maine Farmcast, we have a special treat. On November 11, 2024, the University of Maine campus in Orono hosted a group of Maine 4-H Ag Ambassadors. On their tour of campus, they stopped by my lab, The Maine Grazing Behavior Lab, to see what a State Livestock Specialist and Associate Extension Professor does on a day-to-day basis. While they were here, they participated in a fun activity where they learned more about pork and swine anatomy. I thought it would be fun to invite the kids into the “under construction” podcast studio to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into making a podcast.
The Maine 4-H Agriculture Ambassadors Program is intended for youth ages 14-18 and provides them with the opportunity to connect to local agriculture, build relationships with industry professionals, develop professional and advocacy skills, and explore careers in agriculture. Following completion of a 6-week training, participants serve a year long term as a member of a Maine 4-H Agriculture Ambassador team in an area of their choosing. Ambassador teams participate in 4-6 events throughout the year where they represent the Maine 4-H program and educate others about their chosen content area. The goal of the Maine 4-H Ag Ambassador Program is to provide experiences for youth to explore their interest in agriculture. The program focuses on:
connecting youth with their local food systems and industries
exploring the richness and diversity of the Maine food system
developing “ag-vocacy” skills
increasing access to career and post-secondary opportunities in agri-science and food system
If you would like to learn more about the program, please visit:
4-H staff members Tara Marble, Sadee Mehuren, Megan Cook, Alisha Targonski, and Allison Pollock, are responsible for leading the Maine 4-H Agricultural Ambassador program. To contact the team please email: extension.4hagleadership@maine.edu.
In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 412, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5713, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).
Creators & Guests
Host
Colt Knight
Colt grew up in a coal mining family in West Virginia where they also operated a small family farm and show horse stable. During academic breaks and between schools, he worked in strip mines across the country. Colt earned his B.S. in Animal Science at the University of Kentucky, M.S. in Animal Science at Angelo State University, and his Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Arizona in 2006, 2012, and 2016, respectively. In the fall of 2016, he worked on a postdoc with Dr. Derek Bailey at New Mexico State University. Since 2017, Colt W. Knight works as an Assistant Professor of Extension for the University of Maine where he serves as the State Livestock Specialist. He teaches Introduction to Animal Science (AVS 145) and runs the Maine Grazing Behavior Lab. The core focus of the Grazing Behavior lab revolves around designing and manufacturing livestock tracking collars, engaging in applied grazing behavior research, and assisting other researchers with technology to interpret animal behavior. Dr. Knight’s research is broadly focused on selecting animals uniquely adapted to landscapes and promoting sustainable agriculture. Colt is the current chair for the Society of Range Management Livestock Foraging Behavior Committee, as well as, the North East Region Chair for the National Association of County Agricultural Agent’s Teaching and Educational Technology Committee. He also serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Ecological Processes. Colt is actively engaged in outreach and has delivered over 150 seminars on livestock production since starting his career at the University of Maine.
Host
Glenda Pereira
As the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Dairy Specialist, Dr. Pereira conducts applied research and develops educational programs for dairy and livestock producers across the state of Maine and New England. While the Holstein breed is near and dear to her heart, Dr. Pereira admires the Normande breed and her favorite dairy products are sour cream and ice cream.
Host
Rachel White
Rachel is a Sustainable Agriculture and Livestock Educator based out of Hancock county. Her objectives include education, research, and programming about agriculture in Washington and Hancock counties and with small ruminants and poultry across the state. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Maine researching risk of parasite transmission from wildlife to small ruminants and risk reduction methods, including pastured poultry. Her social science work looks at farmer and veterinarian knowledge, attitude, and practice for small ruminant health management and the challenges they encounter with this topic. Rachel is also involved with the University’s One Health and the Environment NRT program. She is plans to include a One Health framework into her programming to address human-animal-environmental health challenges in Maine’s agricultural community. On her farm, Rachel has Finn sheep, laying chickens, seasonal broilers, pigeons, horses, and various fruits.
What is Maine Farmcast?
The Maine Farmcast features weekly conversations with experts from across the country sharing insights and advice for both new and seasoned farmers running operations of any size. Hosted by three livestock specialists from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the show brings you world-class expertise paired with practical advice about how to apply cutting-edge research to improve the efficiency and sustainability of your farming operation.
Colt Knight:
Welcome to the Maine Farm Cast. I am your host, doctor Colt Knight, associate extension professor and state livestock specialist for Cooperative Extension here at the University of Maine. And today is an exciting episode because I am joined by the 4 h ag ambassadors, and they're gonna tell us a little bit about their experience and their visit to campus today. On the green microphone, we have
Speaker 2:
Evelyn.
Colt Knight:
Evelyn, you're involved in the 4 h Ag Ambassadors program. Can you tell us a little bit about where you're from and what you do with this program?
Speaker 3:
I'm from Cumberland, and we visit different institutes to see what they do. We visited a farm and we looked at their dairy cows. And before that, we visited a lettuce manufacturer and we learned how they grow lettuce.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. So I didn't know that we grew much lettuce here in Maine. Where was that?
Speaker 3:
I don't.
Colt Knight:
Don't remember where it was? The spring
Speaker 4:
works. The,
Speaker 5:
aquaponics.
Colt Knight:
Oh, an aquaponics lettuce. Okay. How about the dairy? Did you learn anything at the dairy?
Speaker 3:
I did. I didn't know cows got pregnant before they produce dairy, which makes sense. But Yeah. I didn't know that at the time.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. That's important process when it comes to making milk. She gotta have pregnancy. Alright. So next on the microphone over here on the blue microphone, we have Rachel.
Colt Knight:
Rachel, where are you from?
Speaker 6:
Ashland, Maine.
Colt Knight:
And what do you do with the Ag Ambassadors program?
Speaker 6:
I travel with them. Like, we went to, like, the lettuce part. The lettuce, SpringWorks. SpringWorks thing. And I couldn't go to the dairy part one, which I was sad about.
Colt Knight:
And why did you join the 4 h program?
Speaker 6:
Because, like, my family's all my family was in it, and I really like livestock and animals. Mhmm.
Speaker 7:
And I wanna be a vet when I grow up.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. What's your favorite livestock species?
Speaker 6:
Horses.
Colt Knight:
Horses. Do you have horses now?
Speaker 6:
I have 4 horses and one pony.
Colt Knight:
What kind of horses?
Speaker 6:
I have a paint. Her name is Honey. And then I have, I forgot what they were.
Colt Knight:
That's okay. And so sitting next to you on the couch
Speaker 8:
I'm Anna.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Anna. You're gonna have to get a little closer to the microphone. There we go. Anna, you got your 4 h letter jacket on. You're hardcore into this.
Colt Knight:
So we we wanna hear about about your experience with 4 h.
Speaker 9:
I've done a little bit of everything. I do mostly independent horse work in 4 h, and I went to Eastern States earlier this year.
Colt Knight:
That's good. What did you do at Eastern States?
Speaker 9:
There is a few, like, competitions we did there, like Pleasure and Equitation and Hunt Seat and things like that. And then there's games that we did.
Colt Knight:
Very interesting. So I actually got my start in 4 h in a horse club in West Virginia. I was Mason Dixon line,
Speaker 5:
you know, from West Virginia all the way to Georgia and Alabama.
Colt Knight:
And so every weekend from April through October, we were showing horses growing up. So it's always good to see fellow equestrians here in Maine. Now besides you, we have Austin. Austin's gonna have to lean over a little bit because the port only goes so far. Austin, where are you from?
Speaker 10:
I'm from Hodgdon, Maine on Quimby Acres Farm.
Colt Knight:
That's good. And I see you've got a Holstein embroidered onto your Carhartt jacket there.
Speaker 7:
Yep.
Colt Knight:
Do you have a dairy? Yeah.
Speaker 10:
We have we're right now, we're milking about 4 dairy cows, and we make butter, cheese, chocolate milk, different flavored milks, and they're pretty good.
Colt Knight:
So the chocolate milk comes from the brown cows? No. No. That's just a joke. What what is your involvement with 4 h?
Speaker 10:
In 4 h, I'm in Ag Investors Club. I'm in 4 h, also in the Rustic Valley baby beef program. I show steers in the installment at auction at Presque Isle Fair. I spend about a year raising them, and I feed them special grain, and I gotta tame them down, walk them every single day.
Colt Knight:
Mhmm.
Speaker 3:
Pretty fun.
Colt Knight:
Yep. That's part of the experience. Alright. So for the folks just listening, this is a small podcast studio designed for 3 people, and we have 13 students and 4 educators packed in here. So what we're doing is we are just rotating students on and off the couch so everybody can be part of the podcast experience.
Colt Knight:
And to my right at the moment, we have
Speaker 11:
my name is Jack.
Colt Knight:
Jack showed up late today. Do you have an excuse for that, Jack?
Speaker 11:
I was driving, and I was a little too slow on the highway.
Colt Knight:
I'm glad to hear teenagers driving slow. That's that's a good thing. So how did you get involved in 4 h?
Speaker 11:
I actually show rabbits and, I had goats for a little bit. I still have goats, but I was in a 4 h club for the goat club, and I also do pigs. And then I attended the Ignite conference in March, and then I got, added to the Ag Ambassadors as well because of that.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. So I grew up raising rabbits Mhmm. And goats. I didn't get into pigs until I went to college. What kind of rabbits are you raising?
Speaker 11:
I have really small and fluffy rabbits called lion heads. So they're not at all for, like, meat or anything like that, but they're just purely show animals. And, I actually attended the, national convention, like, 2 weeks ago and ended up doing pretty good there, so that was fun.
Colt Knight:
I have a funny story about this. So we raised rabbits purely for meat production. And when I was in kindergarten, my mom brought a basket of baby bunnies to class to let all the kids play with them and everything. And then, of course, as a rural student, I proceeded to tell everyone in class how my dad dispatched, cleaned, and gutted the animals so that we could my mom could fry them and and we could eat them. And as you can imagine, the teacher was just mortified.
Colt Knight:
And then she had to go tell my mom what I was saying. And my mom was like, yeah. That's pretty much exactly what happens. And so I'm it's it's it's amazing how far removed folks are from agriculture these days. So it's good that we have young people involved in 4 h and different things so they can get exposed to that whole process.
Colt Knight:
Now to your immediate right, we have
Speaker 12:
I'm Beatrice Schatz.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Beatrice.
Speaker 12:
Hi.
Colt Knight:
So is this your first time coming to the University of Maine?
Speaker 12:
No. This is my, I think, second or third time.
Colt Knight:
Oh, you should be leading this podcast. You're gonna be an expert. Yeah. So how did you get involved in the 4 h program?
Speaker 12:
I raise market hogs with the Cumberland County Swiners, and I live on a goat farm.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. And what kind of pigs do you raise?
Speaker 12:
Normally, I raise Yorkshire Berkshire pigs.
Speaker 5:
Oh, that's
Colt Knight:
a good cross.
Speaker 12:
But yeah. But this year, I'm looking into getting a more heritage breed. My family raises mangolitsas Mhmm. And, maybe something more like that even though they're not great for market hogs.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. Excellent. So I have a registered Berkshire farm and we keep I don't know. I I generally raise between 120 to 200 pigs a year. Alright.
Colt Knight:
Now so on the opposite couch holding the blue microphone.
Speaker 2:
Hi. My name is Annabelle.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Annabelle. Hi. Annabelle has the distinct opportunity to tell us about what she learned today at the University of Maine.
Speaker 13:
I learned the different
Speaker 2:
parts of pig and with the, different processing box.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. And so I have this exercise that I like to do with students where we take a giant pink balloon, and then we can draw a pig face on the balloon, and then we label where all the different cuts of pork come from on the balloon. And so I didn't ask them this while we were doing the the the the balloon, but I'm going to now. And this is for everyone in the room. So we learned where bacon comes from.
Colt Knight:
We know that the Boston butt actually comes from the shoulder. We learned that the ham is actually on the butt. We learned that Canadian bacon is actually back bacon. But where does hamburger come from? Macau.
Colt Knight:
So everyone got that right. They said from Macau. It's amazing. This is a funny story. When I was an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky, we had open farm days, and I remember a elementary school teacher walking up to the pigs and telling the whole class, class, this is a pig and this is where hamburger comes from.
Colt Knight:
And, of course, we had to immediately correct her in front of her students, which embarrassed her, which was not not great, but we can't let that that trespass. Right? You know, and then those of us that know hamburger is actually a type of steak that came from the Hamburg region of Germany where they took mincemeat and formed it into, like, a patty steak size thing. Both Texas and Oklahoma lay claim to the invention of the hamburger, and that was just a beef patty fried with onions, served on a kaiser roll with mustard. Now does anyone know who made the hamburger famous in the United States?
Colt Knight:
You could you could literally say that there's 2 different fast food restaurants that contributed to the hamburger's popularity.
Speaker 2:
McDonald's and Boca King.
Colt Knight:
Oh, no. No. No. McDonald's is one of them. The other one is White Castle.
Colt Knight:
And we don't have White Castle up here in Maine. So these these these kids probably aren't real familiar with it, but they're little bitty square hamburgers. And if you look at the hamburger patty, they've got holes in them. You know why they have holes in them? So they don't have to flip the hamburger patty.
Colt Knight:
It cooks just on one side. But anyway, Annabelle here. She won our pig face drawing competition with a pig that had, like, curly bangs and things. So she did a really good job on that. Now to your left, we have
Speaker 2:
Julia.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Julia. Julia, where are you from?
Speaker 2:
I am from Cumberland as well.
Colt Knight:
Are you? And do you have livestock at home?
Speaker 2:
Yes. We have 2 bunnies. They're mostly glorified pets. And we also have chickens. They're also mostly glorified pets, but we get eggs from them.
Colt Knight:
Mhmm. And what made you join the 4 h program?
Speaker 2:
I would say it was, it was my sister. She joined the the bunnies for a bunnies for each club. And then I ended up joining into another for each club, Merry Maids.
Colt Knight:
And how did you get involved with the Ag Ambassadors program?
Speaker 2:
Oh, I got involved by meeting the,
Speaker 6:
by going to What what what do
Speaker 2:
I call you guys? Like
Speaker 5:
Don't worry. Stop.
Speaker 2:
Yeah. I got involved by meeting the 4 h staff, on a, at ignite, and then I ended up, joining them on on one ambassador's trip, and I ended up really enjoying it. So I just stayed.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. So we've heard that we've heard about this Ignite conference a few times. Maybe you could tell us about that.
Speaker 2:
The Ignite conference, is a 5 day trip from Wednesday to Sunday. For each of us from all over the, America, go to, go to a specific place. This time, it was at DC, and we attend workshops.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. Alright. So we're gonna move the microphone over to your left. And who do we have now?
Speaker 14:
I'm Elsa.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Elsa. Hello. Now I am gonna mix things up a little bit.
Speaker 14:
Okay.
Colt Knight:
What has been the favorite thing that you have learned so far in 4 h?
Speaker 14:
Just total 4 h experience or Ag Ambassador specifically?
Colt Knight:
Let's just talk about 4 h, and then I'll ask you more questions about Ag Ambassadors.
Speaker 14:
I don't know what my favorite part is for sure, but I'm raising my own dairy goat herd, and my family does not come from a farming background. So I have learned pretty much everything I know about animal, like, farm animals through 4 h, and that has been really exciting. I remember I was so thrilled to learn how to milk for the first time. And one of my favorite parts now is being old enough up in the club to be teaching other people who are coming in new all the stuff that I learned from older 4 h'ers. It's a thrilling experience.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. And then how did you get involved with the Ag Ambassadors program? It sounds like you're taken to it really well.
Speaker 14:
I kinda I don't remember. I think my mom saw an email or advertisement about it, and she was like, Elsa, you might enjoy this because I've been part of My 4 h Club for a while now. And so I joined up with this because it sounded like we got to explore a lot of different styles of farming through it Mhmm. And learn more about the food systems in Maine, which I was excited about.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. So what was the biggest surprise you had exploring different food systems here in Maine?
Speaker 14:
I would say definitely aquaponics because I did not know that it existed before I joined Ag Ambassadors, and that is a really interesting concept using fish in conjunction with, plant farming to improve both. And I think it's super cool.
Colt Knight:
We just had to rotate through the couches again. Now I'm gonna ask first so that Sabrina can get this over with. You should see the grimace she just gave me when I asked her to talk on the on the microphone. Sabrina, would you like to introduce yourself? You would not like to introduce yourself?
Colt Knight:
She keeps handing the microphone to the person sitting next to her. Alright. Who who do we have next to you?
Speaker 8:
Hi. I'm Kaylee.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Kaylee. Tell us about Sabrina.
Speaker 8:
I don't know.
Colt Knight:
She doesn't know. Sorry, Kaylee. How did you get involved with 4 h?
Speaker 8:
So I started about 6 years ago with, dairy goats through, American Dairy Goat Association. And the last 6 years, I've been improving my herd. And just recently, beginning of this year, we attended nationals in Louisville, Kentucky.
Colt Knight:
How'd you like Louisville?
Speaker 8:
It was definitely an experience. Yeah. Not one I wanna experience again.
Colt Knight:
But Was that held at the fairgrounds?
Speaker 8:
It was at the, the big building. I don't remember. It's right across from the, airport. Gotcha. I don't So Louisville Expo Center.
Speaker 8:
There
Colt Knight:
you go. Yeah. They they have their state fairgrounds, which also used to be a 6 Flags. Yep. That's where they have their state fair.
Colt Knight:
Yep. The the tractor show, the horse shows, the world saddle bred horse show is held there all at the same time during the state fair. It's a it's a pretty neat place. Louisville Slugger Museum is there. You guys are too young to enjoy bourbon, but, you know, I I really like that area for that as well.
Colt Knight:
What what all did did you do there at the Poor Old Expo?
Speaker 8:
So it was a nationals for dairy goats and we basically like any regular show, dairy show, but just a lot more goats. I believe there was over 3,000 dairy goats there and at least 400 youth that participated.
Colt Knight:
Pretty big.
Speaker 8:
And then all the other people.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. What's your favorite kind of dairy goat?
Speaker 8:
Well, I raised Nigerian dwarves, and they're really well behaved. But I'd say depends on their personality.
Colt Knight:
Oh, so you you judge goats by their personality.
Speaker 8:
Well, not necessarily, but sometimes.
Colt Knight:
Gotcha. Alright. Now moving over beside me.
Speaker 13:
Good morning. My name is Sadie Olmstead.
Colt Knight:
Hi, Sadie. You're actually in my freshman introduction to animal science class. Right?
Speaker 8:
Yes. I am.
Colt Knight:
And we have established that you are doing your homework and taking your exams.
Speaker 13:
Yes.
Speaker 8:
But
Colt Knight:
you don't come to class every day.
Speaker 13:
I come to the majority.
Colt Knight:
Mhmm.
Speaker 13:
I do.
Colt Knight:
You really gotta work on it.
Speaker 13:
I'm doing well. It's one of my favorite classes.
Colt Knight:
Okay. That's good to hear. Now how did you get involved in 4 h, and did 4 h make any inspiration to you to come to the University of Maine?
Speaker 13:
So I started out in 4 h when I was 9 years old, and I recently just aged out. So, that was about 10 years of being in 4 h. I've done a bunch of different things, including raising Belted Galloway cattle, which is what I currently do. I've also done public speaking, a bunch of different things with that. I would say that, since finding my passion for, cattle and showing, that did encourage me to, come to the University of Maine.
Speaker 13:
And, my major is sustainable agriculture.
Colt Knight:
I'm gonna ask you, what is the most surprising thing that you have learned in my class?
Speaker 13:
I don't know. I didn't have a whole lot of background on swine. I've done a bunch of different other, different things. But I I do really And
Colt Knight:
you missed pig day, you said?
Speaker 13:
I did. I did. I have really enjoyed learning about some of the different nutrition and the grazing practices because that's something I don't have a lot
Speaker 8:
of knowledge on.
Colt Knight:
Excellent. Excellent. Alright. So now we have our 4 h leaders that brought the kids to campus today, and they're gonna introduce themselves 1 by 1. And to my right on the green microphone.
Speaker 5:
Hi. My name is Tara Marble, and I am the 4 h professional, out in Franklin County.
Colt Knight:
And how long have you been working with 4 h?
Speaker 5:
I have been working with 4 h as a professional since 2017 through the UMaine.
Colt Knight:
What is your favorite part about pigs?
Speaker 5:
Oh, they are delicious. But I would actually say it's a part we didn't learn about today, but I've raised, pigs in the past, and it's actually the jowl bacon.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. We usually talk about that. But in the interest of time, we skipped it. So let's talk about it now. So most folks are familiar with just straight up regular old bacon that comes from the belly of the pig that is cured and smoked and sliced, and we get bacon.
Colt Knight:
You hear the term Canadian bacon a lot. That's actually the loin usually comes from mature sows, and then that is cured, smoked and sliced. So if you're familiar with regular pork chops, that would be the same muscle that they use for that. That's that. And if you're not familiar with the terminology, when you go to the grocery store and there's that big, long pork loin sitting in that big tubular package, That is what they cure and smoke and slice to make Canadian bacon.
Colt Knight:
Now we start getting into the more exciting forms of bacon. One being the jowl. What is really unique about the jowl is it's a more, how would you describe it? It's more flavorful. It's got a more tender palate.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. More decadent, I would say.
Speaker 5:
I like to call it melty.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. It's and that's from the fatty acid profiles, and it just melts in your mouth as you eat it. The problem is hog jowls are only so big, so you only get just a few slices per pig off of those jowls. But man, is it so good. The Italians also really prized that
Speaker 5:
meat. Mhmm.
Colt Knight:
And used it.
Speaker 5:
Guanacelle? Mhmm.
Colt Knight:
Close. I'm not Italian. I'm not even gonna pronounce that. Now, everyone in the room, we've talked about regular bacon, Canadian bacon, jowl bacon. What's the other type of bacon we could talk about right now?
Speaker 6:
Baby back, maybe?
Colt Knight:
Those are ribs.
Speaker 6:
Oh, oops.
Colt Knight:
Those are also delicious. Anyone? No? They're all staring at me blank. There you go.
Colt Knight:
Oh. The Boston butt. And the technical term for that would be cottage bacon. Oh. So and nowadays, barbecue is popular all across the United States, and so the Boston butt has gained some some real popularity since the the barbecue movement here in the United States.
Colt Knight:
And so that gets smoked and shredded for pulled pork and so on and so forth. But, you know, not so long ago, that was a very difficult cut of meat to get rid of. And so you may have heard of SPAM. Yes. That stands for shoulder pork ham, where they just shred that front shoulder and cook it and put it in a can.
Colt Knight:
So it's not gross. It's just basically the shoulders and and whatever trimmings that they also had that they would put into there. Because what else could you do with it? Because no one just went and bought it. In the Midwest, they would take that Boston butt and slice it and sell those as pork steaks.
Colt Knight:
If you've ever heard of a pork steak, that's that Boston butt cut up. Some people will take part of that Boston butt and cut it up into little cutlets and call it country style ribs. Mhmm. Now you also get country style ribs on the back of the loin where the muscle colors change. And then, something else that we can do with that is take that meat, cure it, smoke it, slice it, and get cottage bacon, which is very delicious.
Speaker 5:
I did not know that.
Colt Knight:
And so you learned something today
Speaker 5:
on your trip. Things today.
Colt Knight:
Alright. So we're gonna we're gonna swap microphones over to the blue microphone.
Speaker 5:
Hi.
Speaker 15:
My name is Megan Cook. I am the 4 h professional for Rustic County.
Colt Knight:
So is this your first podcast?
Speaker 15:
This is my first podcast.
Colt Knight:
How's the experience going so far?
Speaker 15:
Unique. Yeah. Unique.
Colt Knight:
Now, our podcast studio is like halfway done. So there's still, you know, holes in the walls. Probably some really ugly lead based paint still hanging out in here. We do have a nice rug and, couches. It's
Speaker 15:
a very comfy couch.
Colt Knight:
I have not hooked up the new microphone stands yet, so everybody's just hanging on to these really heavy tabletop microphone stands. So have you learned anything on your trip today?
Speaker 15:
I have learned a ton of stuff on the ship today. I yeah. We did, basically, pig anatomy with a balloon. And I knew some of the answers and didn't know some others. So, yeah, very nice hands on activity, doctor Knight.
Speaker 15:
Thank you.
Colt Knight:
Thanks for coming. So we're gonna pass the microphone over to your left.
Speaker 4:
Okay. Allison Pollock, Cumberland County 4 h professional.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. And how long have you worked with 4 h?
Speaker 4:
I've worked with 4 h for 2 years, but I'm a 4 h member and a 4 h leader.
Colt Knight:
So in your 2 years working as a 4 h professional, what is the weirdest thing that has happened to you so far? Careful. Yeah. There's students present.
Speaker 5:
Yeah.
Speaker 6:
I
Speaker 4:
don't know. I'm not really coming up with some super weird things.
Speaker 5:
How about office visits? Anybody coming into your office?
Speaker 4:
Oh, yeah. We've had a few people come into our office that have been a little weird to deal with, but we got through it.
Colt Knight:
Mhmm.
Speaker 7:
Yeah.
Colt Knight:
Oh, wait. Wait till you continue on an extension. Those will just exponentially magnify over time.
Speaker 4:
They might. Mhmm.
Colt Knight:
Yep. Do you
Speaker 4:
want with the weird insects that come in or some plants that come in when you're helping man the desk out front?
Colt Knight:
Yeah. Yeah. I've I've been I've had people bring in poop and ask me to identify the animal based on the poop sample in the bag.
Speaker 5:
Mhmm. Okay.
Colt Knight:
So be prepared. It'll happen eventually.
Speaker 8:
Got it.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. These things accumulate over time. You'll you'll you'll you can write a book on the weird stories that happen eventually. Alright. So we're gonna move the microphone right over to
Speaker 7:
Hi. I'm Sadie Meehan. We're trying to break this.
Colt Knight:
Oh, don't worry about that. We'll put it on the bill.
Speaker 5:
I'm gonna take it out
Speaker 2:
of my
Speaker 5:
paycheck. We
Speaker 11:
gotta have that.
Colt Knight:
Alright, Sadie. I guess, I probably known you the longest Probably. Out of this group. Could you tell us what you do?
Speaker 7:
I'm a 4 h statewide animal science professional, but I started as a county professional in Waldo County.
Colt Knight:
What has been the most fun thing that you have done with students so far, present company excluded?
Speaker 7:
I don't know. I'm gonna say the Ignite trips. I normally don't go on them because they're like right at the same time that my sheep are lambing at home, but I went on 1. I think it was maybe 2021 or 2022. That was a blast.
Speaker 7:
I we we definitely had some challenging moments, like food poisoning and missing some
Speaker 5:
travel stuff and getting lost in
Speaker 7:
the city, but we made it, and that was fun. I'd do it again.
Colt Knight:
Yeah. I've got I remember I went on a, youth trip in a 4 h group one time, into New York City. And they did not monitor us at night, and we all broke out of the rooms and wandered through the
Speaker 7:
No one's yelling.
Speaker 5:
No one's yelling. I
Colt Knight:
don't tell
Speaker 5:
y'all the medical. No. No. No. No.
Speaker 5:
No. We had a really good rung.
Speaker 7:
Yeah. Thankfully, we have good kids, so they make it easy.
Colt Knight:
Yes. That's awesome. Mhmm. Speaking of having good kids, do any of the students have stories they can tell on your 4 h leaders that the audience wants to hear? She looks like she's got something to say.
Colt Knight:
No. You gotta come over to the microphone.
Speaker 5:
I don't like the way she's looking at me. I know. No. I don't
Speaker 13:
I don't have, necessarily stories in particular, but we've definitely had, at some of the 4 h events, there's usually a dance. And so there we have some videos of Tara dancing at the dance that, are quite funny.
Colt Knight:
You know, if you send me a link to that, I can put it in the description of this podcast. Anyone else? Stories? This is the time for revenge.
Speaker 7:
We're very well behaved staff.
Speaker 15:
Yes. We are.
Speaker 5:
So well behaved.
Speaker 13:
We do also really love our staff,
Speaker 5:
so we can't be too mean to them.
Colt Knight:
Well, I guess we should probably end on a good note since everyone's being all sweet. 9 times out of 10, this would go the other way and then we get all kinds of hilarious stories.
Speaker 5:
They haven't eaten yet.
Colt Knight:
Not yeah. So we've we've heard how long is lunch, where is lunch, what do we get to eat. And I think I'm gonna have to turn the students loose so that they can go eat. I did give them candy. So hopefully, they'll get a little bit more excited throughout the day.
Colt Knight:
But thanks for joining us here at the University of Maine. We appreciate having the the younger kids coming up to visit, and I hope everybody learned something. And with that, we are gonna sign off of the Maine Farm cast. If you are listening and you have questions, comments, concerns, or suggested episodes, please email us at extension.farmcast@maine.edu. They're all waiting for me to hit the stop button so they can talk freely.
