In this episode of the Maine Farmcast, host Dr. Glenda Pereira sits down with Amber Blodgett to learn about the Ben and Jerry's Low Carbon Dairy Pilot Project. Amber is the Dairy Research & Outreach Specialist for the UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team. Listeners will learn about different the project, and the specific intervention opportunities to potentially decrease greenhouse gas emissions. You can reach Amber at amber.blodgett@uvm.edu.

• Monthly Tri-State Webinar Recording (YouTube)

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

Recorded outdoors around a table at Knight Family Farm in Garland, Maine, this episode features plenty of fresh air, farm sounds, barbecue and a conversation about things that are not always quite so fresh. Dr. Colt Knight is joined by longtime friend Mark King, organics management specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and one of Maine’s leading composting experts. Mark explains how anything from kitchen scraps and horse manure to livestock mortalities and food-processing waste can be transformed into a valuable soil amendment.

Mark and Colt discuss the basics of building and managing a compost pile, small-scale composting with lobster-trap wire bins, compost-bedded livestock packs, carcass composting, food waste recovery and anaerobic digesters. Mark also shares information about the five-day Maine Compost School and the new Maine Master Community Composter program, which is designed to help communities prepare for Maine’s changing approach to food waste disposal. Whether you manage a farm, keep a backyard garden or simply want to keep food scraps out of the landfill, this episode offers practical advice for turning waste into a useful resource.

• Maine Compost School
• Maine Compost School Sessions and Calendar
• MRRA Food Recovery Council and Maine Master Community Composter Program
• Maine DEP Composting Information

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 Jacki Martinez Perkins to discuss the role the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) plays in promoting organic agriculture through education, advocacy and connection. Jacki serves as MOFGA’s organic dairy and livestock specialist and is a valuable resource for farmers across Maine.

• Contact Jacki
• 50th annual Common Ground Country Fair, Sept. 25-27, 2026
• Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP)

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 Dr. Glenda Pereira talks with Dr. Owen Cortner about biosecurity, heat stress and other animal health considerations when exhibiting animals at fairs. Cortner is a livestock specialist in the Division of Animal and Plant Health at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

• Contact the Maine DACF animal health team
• Maine DACF Heat Stress Best Practices at Events and Fairs (PDF)
• Maine DACF Animal Exhibition Recommendations (PDF)
• Watch: Biosecurity practices for livestock at fairs, shows and exhibitions

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

How do farmers help shape USDA programs in their communities?

In this episode of the Maine Farmcast, Glenda Pereira and Colt Knight welcome Tommy Higgins, Maine state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, for a conversation about the important role FSA county committees play in supporting agriculture.

Higgins shares his journey from military service to leading Maine’s Farm Service Agency. He also explains how local producers help guide FSA programs through county committees. The discussion covers who can serve, how committee members are nominated and elected and why producer participation is essential to ensuring local voices are heard.

The conversation also highlights several FSA programs available to producers, including farm ownership and operating loans, Dairy Margin Coverage, farm storage facility loans, specialty crop assistance and disaster programs that help farmers recover from drought, severe weather, livestock losses and other unexpected challenges.

Whether you are a beginning farmer, an established producer or simply want to better understand the resources available through USDA, this episode offers practical information about how FSA serves Maine agriculture and how you can become involved.

• Listen to our previous episode, “Episode 44: Farm Service Agency with Lucia Brown and Amanda May”
• County Committee Elections (nomination deadline Aug. 3, 2026)
• Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program (enrollment deadline Aug. 7, 2026)

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

How much forage do your cattle really need, and how much grass is actually available in your pasture?

This week, Dr. Colt Knight welcomes Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler back to the Maine Farmcast for a practical conversation about the numbers behind successful grazing management. They explain how estimating forage inventory, calculating dry matter intake and using simple tools such as grazing sticks and plate meters can help producers make better stocking and rotation decisions before pasture problems develop.

The conversation goes beyond the math to explore pasture health, drought planning, grazing efficiency, animal nutrition and the reasons adaptive management consistently outperforms guesswork. Whether you are grazing a few cows or managing hundreds of acres, this episode offers practical strategies to protect your pastures, improve livestock performance and get more value from every acre of forage.

• Northeast Grazing Guide
• Maine Pasture Management Course
• Maine Farmcast Episode 49: Grazing Plans with Dr. Jaime Garzon
• Sustainable Pasture Management video
• University of Kentucky grazing management website

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 Dr. Glenda Pereira sits down with Annie Leahy, a recent University of Maine zoology graduate and incoming Clemson University DVM student, to discuss her honors thesis on emerging pathogens affecting ruminant livestock in Maine. Leahy’s research analyzed cases submitted to UMaine’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab between September 2022 and January 2025, covering 633 ruminant cases across cattle, goats, sheep and alpacas.

• UMaine Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
• UMaine Extension small ruminant programming

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.

A pest that many producers thought was confined to the history books is making headlines again. In this episode, Dr. Colt Knight sits down with Ashley Wright of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension to discuss New World screwworm, a devastating livestock pest that has reemerged in North America. They explain what screwworm is, how it differs from ordinary fly strike and why veterinarians and livestock producers are taking the threat so seriously.

The conversation covers the history of screwworm eradication, recent cases detected in the southern United States, impacts on cattle markets and cross-border livestock movement, and practical steps producers can take to protect their animals. From wound management and biosecurity to sterile fly control programs, this episode provides timely information every livestock owner should know as the industry works to prevent another major outbreak.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity institution and provider committed to nondiscrimination. For more information, visit extension.umaine.edu/nondiscrimination.