- 23 minutes ago
Having lent a hand at a maggot farm in Idaho, Mike's next stop is Arizona, where he attempts to relocate a giant cactus before the state is hit by a storm.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00My name's Mike Rowe, and this is my job.
00:06I explore the country looking for people
00:09who aren't afraid to get dirty.
00:11Does it have to be pigs?
00:12What about a school play?
00:14Hard-working men and women who earn an honest living.
00:16You just shot your load.
00:18First time that's ever happened.
00:20Doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life
00:22possible for the rest of us.
00:24Now get ready to get dirty.
00:28What?
00:29Coming out on Dirty Jobs.
00:31If you think your job is a pain and you know what,
00:33just be glad you don't work at the Morales Ranch.
00:36Is it cactuses or cacti?
00:37Technically cacti.
00:39We're getting into thorny situations.
00:41Look at this.
00:42It's growing in solid granite rock.
00:44Is the whole point.
00:45Just be careful not to prick your finger.
00:48Ow.
00:48Or finger any spines.
00:50If it falls on you, we're just going to bury you out here.
00:53And later, maggots breed naturally on dead tissue.
00:56But they don't leave it to nature at the fork tree ranch.
00:59Oh.
00:59It smells differently than many farms.
01:02It does.
01:03Where filthy fly larvae are a way of life.
01:05They raise millions of maggots here.
01:07And for creatures whose taste runs to decomposing flesh.
01:09These were salmon at one point.
01:11The maggots love that.
01:14Fine dining is a relative concept.
01:16With all that protein, I've probably got the squirts.
01:18This isn't salt dust.
01:19It's toilet paper.
01:20Yeah, that'd be a good way to put it.
01:23Dirty jobs.
01:24Getting down to it.
01:26Dirty jobs.
01:28Ain't nothing to it.
01:30Dirty jobs.
01:32Someone's gotta do it.
01:34Someone's gotta do it.
01:35Someone's gotta do them dirty jobs.
01:40Well, where are we?
01:43Congress, Arizona.
01:45Am I following someone?
01:46No.
01:47You're leading.
01:48Where are we going?
01:49Uh, that way.
01:51I'm glad we're spending a lot of money on big cars.
01:53We're supposed to have four-wheel drive for this year, but no one ever told me that.
01:57Great.
01:57This is silly.
01:59We have this little tiny car.
02:01These big giant men jammed in it.
02:04This is our budget.
02:05When they give you lemons, you make lemonade.
02:08This desert used to be filled with gold.
02:10Now landowners are prospecting their own property
02:13for a new kind of treasure,
02:15one that's been hiding right in plain sight.
02:18We're looking for a cactus.
02:22Do you think people will see this
02:25and assume that this is actually how TV gets made?
02:29Too small.
02:31Like, you know, kids are watching and going,
02:33you know what, this TV thing is the thing for me.
02:36Too pointy.
02:40This is a lot of fun, but this is not how TV usually works.
02:44We may be lost.
02:48Whatever you're seeing here right now,
02:50don't think for a moment that that's what's waiting for you.
02:52It isn't.
02:53No, no, no, it's too fruity.
02:55It's too bushy.
02:56It's too skinny.
02:58You're going to be in a horrible studio somewhere,
03:01working for way less than you ever imagined.
03:03Getting closer.
03:05For people that have half your talent
03:07and none of your ability.
03:08I don't want to go on about it,
03:11because I'm not bitter about the industry that I serve.
03:14I'm just saying.
03:15Mike, can you try to hit that mark where you're at?
03:18Sure, I think I'm already on it.
03:27Well, the road will only bring you so far.
03:29The quest for cactus continues, maybe with a device more suited for it.
03:34This is Dave.
03:35This is DJ.
03:37And you're Dan?
03:38Yep.
03:38And you all are the Moraleses.
03:40Yes.
03:41How big is your ranch?
03:42It's about 15 sections, 15 square miles.
03:45Good grief.
03:46How many acres is that?
03:47I don't know.
03:47You'll have to figure that out.
03:49I'm pretty sure I just drove over all of them.
03:53I mean, everywhere I look I see, is it cactuses or cacti?
03:59Technically cacti.
04:01But this is not like a cacti ranch.
04:03This is just your property, and you just happen to have a bunch of cacti on it.
04:07Yeah, it's a working cattle ranch.
04:08Been in my family for over 100 years.
04:10Yeah?
04:11And the cactus subsidized the cow business.
04:13So is the cactus business better than the dairy business right now?
04:17Got to be.
04:19Okay.
04:21So you're selling cactus to the local residents for landscaping stuff?
04:25Yeah.
04:26And to nurseries for landscaping, or we'll sell to individuals.
04:30I saw a lot of different cacti coming in.
04:32Big ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones.
04:35We're looking for the big grown-up ones today.
04:37Yeah, the older ones.
04:39Which ones?
04:39Which one do you have in mind?
04:41A big saguaro cactus with four arms, about 19 feet tall.
04:45Can we go take a look at it so I can just actually get my head around it?
04:49So we can line you out, right?
04:50Yeah, yeah.
04:50You got it.
04:51I'm going to follow you.
04:51Actually, I'm going to follow DJ.
04:53No, you know what?
04:53I'm going to follow Dan.
04:54This way we'll have a line.
04:56A line in the desert.
05:04Young saguaros.
05:05This one's probably 80 years old, 80 to 90.
05:07Really?
05:08They have to be at least 10 feet tall before they'll get an arm.
05:11Or very seldom you find one shorter than that with an arm.
05:14All right.
05:15Well, now I'm starting to get it.
05:15If you want a cactus in your front yard, you can't just plant one.
05:18You'll be dead and gone before the food grows.
05:20Yeah.
05:20Yeah.
05:20So you've got to find somebody with a ranch and a couple of boys
05:23who are willing to take orders and yank them out of the ground.
05:25Yeah.
05:25Sometimes they take orders.
05:26Not so much.
05:27Not always.
05:28Is this the one we're looking at?
05:29The second one on the right.
05:31How old would you say it is?
05:33This one's about 150, 160 years old.
05:36Wow.
05:40160.
05:41So before the Civil War, this is growing here.
05:44Yeah.
05:45That's amazing.
05:45How long will it live?
05:48I don't know.
05:49There's some that are over 200.
05:51It weighs roughly how much?
05:52At least a minimum of 100 pounds a foot.
05:54If it falls on you, we're just going to bury you out here.
05:57We're not going to take you to the hospital or anything.
05:59No, it's just over.
06:00What would kill me, DJ?
06:02Just the pure weight or the pain of having these punji sticks slide through me?
06:07Probably both.
06:09Would you like to show them?
06:10No.
06:11Show me one.
06:11He had a seven-foot saguaro on a truck.
06:14The guy backed up when the saguaro was laying on the forks and it rolled onto his back.
06:18No, no, no.
06:18And down his back and off.
06:20You got cactus scars?
06:22Well, most of them went in real deep and they got skin over them.
06:24Now you can't see them, but I can feel them.
06:26There's a few.
06:26He looks like he had the chicken pox real bad.
06:28I hate to ask, but can I look at your back?
06:30There's some there.
06:31Some there.
06:32Right, right, right.
06:33All these little bumps are all wear stickers.
06:36There's one in the middle here that hurt.
06:38She just got one two nights ago there.
06:40So how long?
06:40When was this?
06:41Like a year and a half ago?
06:42Yeah.
06:42Yeah.
06:42Saguaro stickers don't soften like other stickers.
06:45They stay hard forever.
06:46Right, a nickel for every time.
06:48Well, it doesn't matter.
06:49The point is you got stickers in your back.
06:51Got drilled.
06:51Got drilled.
06:52Free acupuncture.
06:53Yeah.
06:54So the truck's going to come up the road, back in.
06:56We're going to dig this up and hopefully just lay it straight down.
06:59Yeah.
07:00Ready?
07:02You don't want to go any faster than the camera crew can run.
07:06You're making a road.
07:10The cigaros are taken out by truck and because these giants are fragile, especially their arms,
07:16a road of sorts has to be cut to allow a smoother ride.
07:28We're here.
07:34Man, I'm sorry you couldn't feel that, but coming up that road, smooth.
07:40Coming up.
07:41This is custom.
07:42Homemade.
07:42The lift gate pump out of a two ton truck.
07:44The rest of this is scrap steel from one of steel places in Phoenix.
07:48If you want to get into the cactus business, you're going to have to find your own cactus.
07:51Then, invent your own truck to move it with.
07:54Why don't you patent this thing?
07:55Because then everybody would have one.
07:57Cut into my business.
07:58Oh, that's a good point.
07:59And later.
08:00Pink maggots.
08:01Fishermen want pink maggots?
08:03Right.
08:03Is that why there's a little pink in your beard right there?
08:05Yeah.
08:05Pink is the new black.
08:06It's also slimy, disgusting, and eats rotting flesh.
08:10Dennis is a very cosmopolitan maggot farmer.
08:23They say that comedy is when unfortunate things happen to somebody else.
08:30Our crew proves that on almost every job.
08:38Oh, jeez.
08:39Where the hell did that come from?
08:40For it to watch.
08:45He did it.
08:47It was a pirouette, I think it was.
08:51Alright.
08:52This is custom.
08:53Homemade.
08:54The lift gate pump out of a two ton truck.
08:57The rest of this is scrap steel from one of the steel places in Phoenix.
09:01And I just went and bought leftovers and stuff.
09:04Why don't you patent this thing?
09:06Because then everybody would have one.
09:07Cut into my business.
09:08Oh, that's a good point.
09:10All that dirt's got to be moved.
09:11This dirt?
09:12And then dig down and cut the roots on this side before we can attach the rig.
09:16That's too bad.
09:16So we have a shovel with your name on it.
09:19Great.
09:20How many we got?
09:21One.
09:22Just the one?
09:24We're feeling sorry for you, Mike, so we're going to help you a little bit.
09:28Never ever underestimate the power of pity.
09:32Oh, and look at this.
09:35It's growing in solid granite rock.
09:37That root is in the rock?
09:39Yep.
09:40It'll go right through the crack to split the rock.
09:42Root in the rock.
09:44Rats.
09:45You can see how soft the roots are there, see?
09:48Yeah.
09:49Now, how important is it to preserve the roots you have, or does it matter?
09:52Are these things like worms?
09:53Can you cut them in half and they'll grow?
09:55You can cut a soil in half, plant it, and it'll grow.
09:59The saguaro is the largest cactus in the United States.
10:02If you want to buy one, it'll run you about $100 a foot, including the length of the arms.
10:08So this is kind of like a family bonding thing for you guys, huh?
10:11How many guys get to work with their dad and their sons all the time?
10:15It's a real treat.
10:16He says.
10:18Yeah, if my grandfather knew, he was born in 1878, he died in 1976, he was 98.
10:25If he knew that we were selling rocks and cactus and stuff, he wouldn't believe it.
10:32Oh, it's moving.
10:33Hey.
10:34Moving?
10:35Yeah, that's it.
10:36Okay, we'll stand the rig up.
10:45We're on a slope and we want it to be straight to match the saguaro.
10:49That's why I built this thing to move either way.
10:51Right.
10:52Can we reach that side bench?
10:53Yeah.
10:56Come on back.
10:59Oh, there it is.
11:00Right there is good.
11:01Right now, you guys are going to put the carpet real thick so it doesn't break the skin.
11:05Yeah, he'll feel the slack his way.
11:06I got you.
11:08Yeah, you can really see how fragile they are.
11:14There we go.
11:14See, we're pulling the top part into the cradle.
11:16Right there.
11:17Good.
11:17Now we're ready to start digging down at the bottom.
11:19Now the whole thing can be dug up.
11:21Chip's flying.
11:22I like that.
11:24I can't swing that that hard.
11:25Dad's got a lot of rage built up in him, doesn't he?
11:28He doesn't want to go straight down right there.
11:30Should have some Morales teamwork.
11:33He goes in with the extreme anger.
11:36Deej comes in with some finesse.
11:39Dan assumes supervisory posture.
11:41I'm the smartest.
11:42And I come in for the glory.
11:45With a once sharp axe.
11:49This goes under the roots.
11:51That's a brand new band.
11:52Yeah, look at that.
11:53Take it right underneath the roots there.
11:55That's where we need to hit it.
12:00Hey, you might want to tighten your straps.
12:04I'd say it's free.
12:06Ain't nothing free in this world, Dave.
12:07That's what I've learned.
12:13Let's stop there.
12:16This arm's starting to want to hang down a little bit.
12:19So let's figure out what we're going to do.
12:22Saguaro's may be hardy enough to grow in rock,
12:24but their arms can snap off very easily.
12:28Each one has to be braced so they don't break off in transit.
12:37See, all the digging you're doing, work you're doing, everything,
12:39but if you don't do this part, you break an arm
12:42and then you can't sell it.
12:51I've never seen that one before.
12:52That's right.
12:52Take notes, boys.
12:55There's a new sheriff in town.
12:57Wow.
12:58Good.
12:59Guys, I think that we're all braced and ready to go.
13:02Now it's time for a drive down to, where are we going?
13:05Hickman?
13:06Wickenburg.
13:07Wickenburg.
13:10They did a good job on the road, too.
13:20It's pretty good on my side.
13:21How about your side?
13:21It's all right.
13:22That arm's moving, but it's moving with the cactus, all right?
13:26Yeah.
13:26Yeah, okay.
13:27As long as it moves with the trunk, I mean, it's moving a little more than the cactus.
13:32Okay.
13:33That's the most critical part.
13:34Nobody wants one with a hole in it.
13:36Or a broken arm?
13:38Coming up.
13:38We can go ahead and dig the hole now.
13:40Yeah.
13:40We only got one shovel, so you're the designated hole digger.
13:43How many people does it take to dig a hole?
13:45The hole has to be about four inches bigger.
13:49Well, it depends on how many shovels you have.
13:51Strange.
13:51You guys only have the one shovel, huh?
13:53Yeah, it just so happened we forgot the other one.
13:56And later...
13:56Would you say use soft hands?
13:58Soft hands or you kill them.
14:00You'll see dead ones in here.
14:01Soft hands.
14:02Don't want to stress out the maggots.
14:04Getting touchy-feely with things no one wants to touch.
14:07Go, spank it.
14:08Spank it.
14:09Spank that thing.
14:09Oh, you gotta turn it over.
14:11Okay, oof.
14:11Okay, that's it.
14:12Bad maggot.
14:22There's something about having a big hose that makes walking...
14:25How you doing, Mike?
14:26Not good.
14:27...and working...
14:28Very difficult.
14:31You're supposed to spray the ground.
14:32It's got an air pocket.
14:34It's found an air pocket?
14:35And falling down is almost inevitable when your hose is delivering a gassy payload.
14:40Looking good, Mike.
14:41Looking good.
14:41No, you're lying.
14:42Thing is, I...
14:45I think it's going pretty well.
14:53Because the saguaro is only found in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona and northern Mexico,
14:58its sail and transport is tightly controlled by the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
15:04Moving or selling a cactus without a permit is punishable by a $10,000 fine and six months
15:10in jail.
15:16There you go.
15:17Now you can cut it around.
15:18Yeah, have him cut it.
15:19He's going to wipe out the tree.
15:20Hold on.
15:23You can at least dig the hole right there and figure out what we're going to do or whatever.
15:25Yeah, let's see.
15:29Hey, Zach.
15:30We could bring that excavator back here.
15:32We could put a rope around it and pull it with the excavator.
15:35Where's this thing ultimately go?
15:36This thing's going to go right here in this low speed.
15:38Right there.
15:39We're close, huh?
15:40We're close.
15:40We're close.
15:42We're about a foot and a half too far that way.
15:45We're just going to drag the whole back of the truck over.
15:47Whatever it takes to get the job done.
15:51This excavator's got a lot of power here.
15:52I'll just pull the truck for you.
15:53Yeah, it does.
15:54Yeah, you can pull it.
15:55Yeah, look at this.
15:55The guy's pulling it.
15:59That's good.
16:00I think we can pull it.
16:01Oh, you can go a little more?
16:03Right there's in line where our floor needs to be.
16:06We can go ahead and dig the hole now.
16:07Yeah.
16:08And we only got one shovel, so.
16:09Where's it at?
16:10You're the designated hole digger.
16:11Yes.
16:13And the hole has to be about four inches bigger.
16:17Bigger than the base.
16:18Around, yeah.
16:18Bigger around.
16:20That way we have room to tamp and compact the dirt around.
16:22Right.
16:22That way it stands up.
16:24Strange.
16:24You guys only have the one shovel, huh?
16:26Yeah, it just happened.
16:27We forgot the other one.
16:28Can't be that easy.
16:29Sure.
16:30We just rained.
16:31We're lucky.
16:33Got to be three and a half feet deep at least.
16:35If you get tired of what you do, you can come help us.
16:38Take that under advisement.
16:40Okay, you got two feet four.
16:42What I'd hate to do is dig too far.
16:44Three foot three.
16:46Clean it out if it's deep enough.
16:46Let me clean it out at least three six.
16:50Let's call it good.
16:52Good.
16:52Let me see if we can back this up a little more, guys.
16:54That's obliged.
16:57Right there.
17:03Let's stand it up a little more.
17:11Right there.
17:16That's it.
17:17That's all the way down.
17:18All right.
17:19Let's shove some dirt down in there without any of these pieces up.
17:22We're getting close now, guys.
17:24I had a lady that I planted one and she told me where and marked it.
17:27The spot.
17:28I planted it by her pool.
17:30She came out.
17:30I moved it over that far this way.
17:33Oh.
17:33And we did.
17:34That's why I always say I want the wife to come out because she's the one that has to
17:38be happy, right?
17:40I can go on the back of the truck.
17:42And more rank than it looks like.
17:45We're getting close.
17:47You've been saying that since lunch.
17:50It's got to go that way a little bit.
17:52You got to push the same direction as him.
17:54We're rocking it straight that way.
17:56Okay.
17:57You ready?
17:58Yeah.
17:58Now it's got to go towards the house.
18:00Okay.
18:00So fold your carpet up and put it back here.
18:01It's good here, Mike.
18:03All right.
18:04Make sure this is double.
18:05I don't want to get stickers.
18:11Pretty close to plump all directions.
18:14Well, come on over here, guys.
18:15I want to say goodbye to you officially because we're out of light.
18:19And this was a lot of, what's the word?
18:22I want to say fun.
18:23All right.
18:23It was kind of fun.
18:25Kind of fun.
18:26We really enjoyed it.
18:28Good fun.
18:28And you ain't a bad worker for a city guy.
18:30Thanks, Mike.
18:30It all hurts.
18:31I appreciate it.
18:32Thanks, Mike.
18:32All right.
18:33You still watching?
18:34Show's over.
18:35We said goodbye like 10 seconds ago.
18:36Go.
18:38Thanks, fellas.
18:40Thanks, Mike.
18:42Those are the Selkirk Mountains back there.
18:45If you look real close, you can see a little slit running up there through the trees.
18:48That's actually the border between the United States and Canada.
18:51Doesn't get much prettier than northern Idaho.
18:53And if I had more time, I'd take a leisurely stroll up in those hills, surround myself with
18:58the splendor of nature's unmitigated majesty.
19:02But, instead, go to a maggot farm.
19:12The Fork Tree Ranch has been raising maggots for over 20 years and is now one of the largest
19:17producers of fresh-bait maggots in the U.S.
19:19Now, you've heard the term dress for success.
19:21Well, when you're working around maggots with a stink so bad it cuts through to your underwear,
19:27success is not a coat and tie.
19:29Well, after a couple hundred dirty jobs, you start to get tuned into the signs early on
19:33as to what kind of day it's going to be.
19:35As a rule, you know it's going to be a bad day.
19:37When the crew starts changing immediately, it seems a little blousey.
19:43The seams are so, you know, this is so last.
19:47These are summer colors.
19:49Did you tell them I was at fault?
19:50What is, what does it mean?
19:53It's just like pinstripes on a cock.
19:56On a fine automobile.
19:59They are slipping.
20:07Okay, good.
20:08Hi.
20:10Hello.
20:11Hello.
20:12Hi.
20:12You're Amber.
20:13Yeah.
20:14You're Pam.
20:15I am.
20:16You're Dennis.
20:16I am.
20:17You're April.
20:18Yes.
20:19You're all the pondsnesses.
20:21Right.
20:22And you're the neighbor.
20:23Yeah.
20:24Are you an employee here?
20:24Mm-hmm.
20:25Okay, good.
20:26Great.
20:27Dennis, this is your, is it a farm?
20:30Yes.
20:31It smells differently than many farms I've been on.
20:34It does.
20:35It does.
20:36Yeah.
20:36Pam, do you still smell it?
20:37I do.
20:38Do you?
20:39Amber, you can still smell it?
20:40Yeah.
20:40Good.
20:40And April?
20:41Yes.
20:42Good.
20:42All right, so it's not just me.
20:43My crew, they're all dressed up like they're for surgery here, but why maggots, Dennis?
20:50It was by accident.
20:51My dad wanted to raise some fishing bait, and then he wanted to sell it years ago, and
20:57so we just brought them out here.
20:59You're happy with the maggot choice, the cards you got?
21:01Makes a living.
21:02We're doing okay with the maggots?
21:04Yeah.
21:04When we started maggots, she was selling Mary Kay.
21:08Now that would have been a real added bonus to pull out of your little pink suitcase there.
21:13Yeah.
21:13The maggot line.
21:14Right.
21:15And how many maggots would you say are on the premises?
21:17Five to ten million.
21:18Five to ten million?
21:19We have pink maggots to take out to ship today.
21:22What?
21:23Pink maggots.
21:24Fishermen want pink maggots?
21:25Right.
21:26Is that why there's a little pink in your beard right there?
21:28Yeah.
21:29Yeah.
21:29Exactly.
21:30I was gonna, I didn't want to say anything, but look, he's got just a little, he's got
21:34like a touch of your beard.
21:35I see your beard.
21:36I'm like, Dennis is a very cosmopolitan maggot fart.
21:42Coming up.
21:42This is one of those existential moments.
21:44A live maggot who looked like he was on his way through, but.
21:47A maggot that can't make up its mind is not on the fence, it's on the screen.
21:51Well, if you feel sorry for him, you can hang him over the belt.
21:54Because if I feel sorry for him, I can reward him by sending him across the country where
21:57a fisherman will put a hook through his bottom.
22:00And later.
22:01We're making omelets for one?
22:02No, we're making fly food.
22:03Special recipe.
22:04Breaking eggs to make eggs.
22:06Those are eggs?
22:07These are eggs.
22:07That's what's gonna hatch into our maggots.
22:09And the twist on an age old question.
22:11Well, what comes first?
22:12The egg or the blue bottle fly?
22:24There's a fine line between falling and not falling.
22:27That's great.
22:28You're Captain Comedy.
22:29On board the good ship Anguish.
22:31Hurry up!
22:32The key preventatives are intelligence.
22:34Crap.
22:35Self-preservation.
22:36Don't slip.
22:37Don't slip.
22:38A keen sense of balance.
22:42Respect for animals.
22:45And fear of falling into a lake of poop.
22:47Oh, no!
22:52Right now, 200,000 pink maggots are waiting to be shipped out.
22:56Immediately.
22:57This is the last step in the farming process.
22:59And once these guys are ready, we have to produce thousands of new maggots.
23:03Oh!
23:05I think I'll put mine on.
23:08Why are my eyes about to start running down my face?
23:12Ammonia.
23:13Ammonia, okay.
23:13Probably could turn the fan back on.
23:15Whatever you think's best in terms of us not perishing.
23:19That's ammonia.
23:20There's no bacteria in here.
23:22Oh!
23:22The ammonia kills the bacteria.
23:24A fly's life cycle is about 30 days.
23:27Flies lay eggs that develop into larvae, also known as maggots.
23:30These become pupae and then become a fly.
23:34To get the maggots ready to be shipped, they must be separated from the sawdust and leftover
23:39food.
23:54The Ponson's family raise five million maggots a week for bait and have to ship them within
23:59seven days, before they turn in the flies.
24:03Now we're gonna get ready to screen them all.
24:06How do you screen maggots?
24:08Oh, you mean literally put them through screens.
24:10Right.
24:11Right.
24:11It's not like a Q&A.
24:13No.
24:14No.
24:15You're gonna take this, and you're gonna shake them out all along the screen like that.
24:22Would you say use soft hands?
24:24Soft hands or you kill them.
24:25You'll see dead ones in here.
24:28Soft hands, soft hands.
24:32You don't wanna stress out the maggots.
24:34That's good.
24:35They're hot, and we need to get them in the cooler as soon as possible.
24:38Okay.
24:40Chop-chop, in other words.
24:44You can see the maggots dropping through one all the way down to the conveyor belt.
24:49When they get to the conveyor belt, they're pushed pretty quickly in this direction.
24:53Oh, just a second.
24:55Put that down.
24:56Yes.
24:56Yep.
24:58This is what we have to do.
25:00You gotta get those out in here as fast as you can.
25:02You have a maggot parade.
25:05Ah.
25:06Careful.
25:06You don't wanna lose any.
25:07No, I don't.
25:08And I want everyone to like me.
25:10So now we go to the third screen.
25:12Finer screen?
25:13Yep.
25:13We need all we can get because we have lots of orders.
25:16So we try to get these off as soon as possible.
25:18Alright, so a lot of things happen very quickly.
25:20I don't need the unnecessary death of maggots weighing on my conscience.
25:27This is one of those existential moments.
25:29You can't make up his mind.
25:31You got a live maggot who looked like he was on his way through, but I'm just watching to see.
25:36See, he didn't want it bad enough.
25:37He was confused, right.
25:38Right.
25:39He didn't want it.
25:39So he gets rejected and he goes in the bad barrel.
25:41Well, what about this guy up here?
25:43Well, if you feel sorry for him, you can hang him over the belt.
25:46Maybe he'll get through.
25:47Yeah.
25:47Because if I feel sorry for him, I can reward him by sending him across the country where
25:51a fisherman will put a hook through his bottom.
25:53Well, that's much more exciting than going into the dump pile, don't you think?
25:58It's all about adventure, you know?
26:00I like the way you think, April.
26:02Want to go fishing sometime?
26:04Actually, I hate fishing.
26:06I guess you do.
26:08Okay, so it's time for these to go into the cooler.
26:11Because if they don't get into the cooler soon enough, then they start, they get too hot,
26:16and they turn into pupae, and we can't have that because these are debate maggots.
26:20Okay, that'll work.
26:21That'll work.
26:21Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:23I like that.
26:23You get a little twitchy there when it gets close, don't you?
26:26It makes me nervous.
26:27I know.
26:28Oh, God!
26:30Man, it's a good thing I'm here to help you.
26:32It's a good day for me and the maggots, April.
26:35Okay, now turn this way.
26:37Uh-huh.
26:37All right, all right, now turn it over and pat it on the corner there.
26:42Good, spank it.
26:42Spank it.
26:43Spank that thing.
26:44You gotta turn it over.
26:45Okay, that's it.
26:46Bad maggot.
26:47To the left, you'll see the pink.
26:50Left, there's the pink.
26:52All right, I'm guessing we do that.
26:56Uh-oh.
26:56What happened here?
26:58Did Amber mess up again?
26:59That was my fault.
27:01I didn't put the thing down.
27:05Dennis, that's awkward.
27:06I don't know what to say.
27:09Actually, it was my fault.
27:11I like April.
27:11She took the fall for me.
27:13I appreciate that.
27:16Now the maggots are safely in the cooler, we can start from the beginning.
27:20Pam.
27:22Hi, Mike.
27:23We making omelets or what?
27:24No, we're making fly food.
27:25Special recipe for our flies.
27:27I need you to crack the eggs, fill it to the line up here.
27:31Where do you get your blue flies from?
27:35We raise them.
27:36Well, what comes first?
27:37The egg or the blue bottle fly?
27:41We bought our first larva ten years ago.
27:45Sounds like it's going to be a romantic story.
27:47You're cruising along and all of a sudden, oh, larva.
27:50I'll take it.
27:53You got it.
27:54You got it.
27:55You got it.
27:55Okay.
27:55All right.
27:55Now, pour it in here.
27:57Oh, no, no, no, no, in here, in here.
27:59Just testing.
27:59Okay.
28:00Let me see if you're paying attention.
28:01I'm paying attention.
28:01And this again is what?
28:03It's concrete.
28:04It's proprietary.
28:05Come on.
28:05Nope.
28:06Okay, pour the eggs in and you're going to mix it.
28:08You don't even want me to hint at discussing what this is.
28:11No.
28:11Because this is ultimately the food that causes the flies to give forth, which eventually...
28:19Their eggs.
28:19Right.
28:20Which hatch into the larva.
28:21This is really, if you think about it, where the whole operation begins.
28:24Right here in your bowl.
28:25Mm-hmm.
28:26Your proprietary bowl.
28:27My proprietary bowl.
28:29Can I do this?
28:29Yes, you may.
28:30It makes me feel vital.
28:30Yes.
28:31I'm showing you how.
28:33Good, because I don't know how I ever would have figured this out, Pam.
28:35This takes muscle.
28:38And perseverance.
28:40Speaking of which, how long have you been with Dennis?
28:4321 years in August.
28:44Is that right?
28:45Mm-hmm.
28:45Congratulations.
28:46Now, would I have married him if I would have known this?
28:49Yes.
28:49There's a question.
28:50Mm.
28:50That's debatable.
28:52No, it's quite a dowry.
28:55Yes.
28:55Think about what our inheritance will be.
28:57All this can be yours.
28:59The maggots.
29:00How much is this fly worth?
29:02We figure a maggot's worth a penny a piece.
29:05Is that right?
29:06You said you might have 10 million maggots in there.
29:09So what's a penny times 10 million?
29:10Oh, I don't know.
29:11Are you going to do this or are you going to talk?
29:13I think there's a fair amount of evidence to suggest that I'm going to talk.
29:16Okay.
29:17We'll let you talk.
29:20You want to wash your hands?
29:22I don't care.
29:23You don't care?
29:23Do we?
29:24Do we do that at this point?
29:25We're feeding flies right now.
29:26I don't want to wash my hands.
29:27I don't want to be sticky.
29:28Well, we're feeding flies, so let's make sure.
29:31A bucket of this proprietary fly food is enough to feed 35,000 flies.
29:35Look at it as their last supper since they die shortly after laying their eggs.
29:41It's off to the fly house.
29:42Yeah.
29:43Coming up.
29:44Can I tell you a secret?
29:45Yeah, sure.
29:46I hate flies.
29:47Fly, the slang word for something good.
29:50I'm thinking of all the picnics these guys have ruined over the years.
29:53The fly house, not fly.
29:55I've killed a lot of flies, I can be honest with you.
29:57Maybe that's your problem.
29:58Maybe it is.
30:00And later.
30:01Dump it on top there and I'll give you a few of these bones to mix with it.
30:05Nouvelle cuisine in northern Idaho.
30:08Salmon a la grinder.
30:09We want them to have a balanced diet.
30:11Sure, you don't want to spoil the maggot with too much sugar.
30:24Animals don't fall very often.
30:26Unless, of course, they're fainting goats.
30:28He's up.
30:29No, he's down.
30:30But they can make people fall when we harness them.
30:32Troy, heads up.
30:33Holy smokes.
30:34Whoa.
30:35Whoa.
30:36Chase them.
30:36Oh, crap.
30:38Or wrangle them.
30:39Try and put little sacks over their heads.
30:41No!
30:42God, he's a powerful son of a gun.
30:45They don't like that.
30:46It's about the weirdest thing I've done all day, to be honest with you.
30:53Hi, Amber.
30:54Hi.
30:55I brought some food for your flies.
30:57Oh, great.
30:59Just put it over there.
31:00Anywhere's fine.
31:01Yeah.
31:01Okay, so we're unsetting the blows right now.
31:04We just want to try and get all the flies off of them.
31:06And this is what they lay the eggs on.
31:08Those are eggs?
31:09These are eggs.
31:10They're tiny little eggs in there.
31:12That's what's going to hatch into our maggots.
31:15Okay, just so we're crystal clear on that.
31:17Yeah.
31:18Does that just look like dirt?
31:24Dirty job, Amber.
31:25No doubt about it.
31:32How long you been doing this?
31:34I've been doing this for about six months, I think.
31:38What are you, like 19?
31:39I'm 18.
31:40You're 18?
31:4018, yeah.
31:42So...
31:4218 working at a maggot farm.
31:44Yeah.
31:44Hey, I...
31:45I love it.
31:46Other than the smell, it's actually pretty nice.
31:48Oh, you missed some.
31:49You really gotta get all of them, because...
31:51Because this is the whole point.
31:52Yeah, I mean, they're so small.
31:54There's like...
31:54There's probably 200 maggots right there.
31:58So...
31:58All right.
31:58Can I tell you a secret?
31:59Yeah, sure.
32:00I hate flies.
32:02You hate flies?
32:03I do.
32:03I hate them.
32:04All the picnics these guys have ruined over the years.
32:08I've killed a lot of flies, I gotta be honest with you.
32:10Maybe that's your problem.
32:12Maybe it is.
32:13Maybe I'm just waiting for word to get around there.
32:15I'm gonna gang up on me and settle.
32:17Settle up the hard way.
32:19Hey, they're just another one of God's creatures, right?
32:22Well, how about ticks?
32:23Should we be nice to them?
32:24Oh, yeah.
32:25Sure.
32:26Leashes?
32:27Oh, yeah.
32:27Sure?
32:28Parasites, the kind that live in your bowel.
32:30Should we be nice to them?
32:31I'm sure there's some reason they exist.
32:34Yeah.
32:35When you eat bad chicken, that's why.
32:38Okay, good enough.
32:40And then that's pretty much ready to vacuum out.
32:42Well, fire that thing up.
32:44I say we suck them all into oblivion.
32:55I caught a big one, Amber.
32:58All right.
32:59And dinner is about to be served.
33:00Uh-huh.
33:01It looks like ice cream, actually.
33:04A little bit more.
33:05Oh, dear.
33:05Dead flies.
33:06Yeah, okay.
33:07Do you have any emotional attachment at all to the flies and the maggots?
33:11Not really.
33:12I do call them cute little maggies sometimes.
33:15My mom's name's Maggie.
33:17I kind of, I don't know.
33:19It's a term of endearment.
33:20I think you've got to hang on this.
33:22Yep.
33:22Ready to take over the business.
33:25Don't go that far.
33:27You're okay, Amber.
33:28You made me nervous at first, I'll be honest with you.
33:31Oh, really?
33:31Yeah, really.
33:32You came out of your shell like a larva.
33:37I love the flypaper.
33:38It really is just a, it's a real reminder to those who might be contemplating escape.
33:43Next stop for the eggs is the growing room, where with proper nourishment, they'll hatch
33:47into maggots.
33:48In this place, though, proper means pretty much the same thing as disgusting.
33:52This is the grinding room.
33:54She's a beaut.
33:56Isn't that good?
33:56These were salmon at one point?
33:59Those are chum salmon.
34:00These basically were probably done for salmon roe for the egg market for Japan.
34:07Maggots love that.
34:08That's all protein.
34:17Dump it on top there and I'll give you a few of these bones to mix with it.
34:20Alright.
34:21We want them to have a balanced diet.
34:23Well, sure.
34:24You don't want to spoil the maggot early on with too much sugar.
34:27No.
34:37I think you got the hang of it.
34:39Thanks.
34:39You got a name for the grinder?
34:41No.
34:42Sometimes, you know, in a bout of affection, a proprietor will name his most necessary tools.
34:51I'd call this one Chuck.
34:53Huh?
34:54Chuck.
34:55That'd work.
34:56That'd work.
34:58We're coming in here to feed that to the maggots.
35:02There's probably, I'd say 500,000 larvae.
35:05500,000 maggots eat about 700 pounds of fish guts in a week.
35:10With all that protein, they've probably got the squirts.
35:13I would think so.
35:14This isn't sawdust.
35:15It's toilet paper.
35:16Yeah.
35:16That'd be a good way to put it.
35:17We're hoping that that's going to be about 200,000 larvae.
35:21Good.
35:23They're happy.
35:24They look happy.
35:25Yeah, they are.
35:26They're happy.
35:27So, do they all need to be pink?
35:29No.
35:29No.
35:29We just do a, probably about 10% of them pink for bait.
35:34It goes on the food, not the maggots themselves.
35:37No, on the food.
35:38And they'll eat it.
35:38And then that'll turn them red.
35:39That'll turn them red.
35:41I gotta say this.
35:42A little lighter, probably.
35:43This red dye looks green.
35:44Yeah, it'll turn red right away.
35:47That'll work.
35:48That's enough.
35:49That is okay.
35:49That's plenty.
35:51Yep.
35:52These youngsters will be ready in a couple of days.
35:54But right now, we have 200,000 waiting to go out.
35:57I understand that the maggots that we put in the freezer are cooler?
36:04Cooler.
36:04Couldn't hear you.
36:05Just mouth it.
36:05You went.
36:07Is it bad to say cooler out loud?
36:09No, I was trying to tell you it wasn't a freezer.
36:10It was a cooler.
36:11But that's so cute.
36:12You didn't want to correct me.
36:13You just wanted me to know that I was wrong.
36:15But you didn't want anyone else to know.
36:17Yeah.
36:17But now, of course, everyone knows.
36:19Everybody knows.
36:19That I don't know the difference between a cooler and a freezer.
36:21Coming up.
36:22Yeah, you're actually at 15.
36:24I'm just checking, okay?
36:25What kind of idiot do you take me for?
36:27I've been checking my work.
36:29When thousands of lives depend on your job...
36:32Why are you laughing?
36:33You said go very slowly.
36:34It's enough to make anyone a little testy.
36:36What?
36:37Are they done yet?
36:37I'll let you know when it's done, Mom.
36:39All right.
36:49When it comes to falling, nothing beats slippery things, gooey things, and that old favorite, garbage.
37:10But no matter how you fall, always remember...
37:14Safety first.
37:19We'll get it.
37:21Be careful.
37:22Hi, April.
37:23Hi.
37:23Don't let him dump him.
37:25Okay, there we go.
37:29What?
37:30What?
37:31What?
37:31What?
37:32What?
37:32You have no confidence in me at all.
37:33Oh, my.
37:34Doctor.
37:35What happened?
37:36They almost fell.
37:37No, that wasn't even close.
37:38You've got to pick that up and just scoot it forward.
37:41Oh, okay.
37:42With your foot.
37:42Be careful.
37:43Oh, no.
37:44There we go.
37:45She makes me nervous.
37:46Does she make you nervous?
37:47Sometimes.
37:48Man.
37:48She's intense, you know?
37:50Yeah, she's real.
37:51You're not bending.
37:54Okay, so just take two at a time.
37:59Okay.
38:00All right, Pam.
38:00Be careful now for crying out loud.
38:06Whoa, whoa.
38:06Oh, so close, Pam.
38:08So close.
38:08You know what?
38:09It's like you just stopped caring.
38:11It's just like you don't care anymore.
38:13Nobody cares about the maggots.
38:15The term of affection is Maggie's.
38:17Yeah, that's what Ashley was saying, except that's my mom's name.
38:21It's Amber.
38:22Whatever.
38:22The important thing is she's not here now.
38:24No, she's not.
38:24She's gone.
38:25Oh, there she is.
38:26There she goes.
38:27That's awkward.
38:28You all showered up?
38:29You smell pretty?
38:31Great.
38:40So this is the packing department.
38:42It is.
38:43It is.
38:43Yep.
38:44This is the container we measure them in.
38:46So we want 25,000.
38:48So we want to fill it up to the top here.
38:51All right.
38:54Why are you laughing?
38:55You said go very slowly.
38:58Don't go up on the table.
38:59You're doing great.
39:00I laugh a lot.
39:01Do you remember?
39:02Mm-hmm.
39:02These are already sold.
39:03They're all sold.
39:04Mm-hmm.
39:05Oh, yeah.
39:06You're actually at 15.
39:08I'm just joking, okay?
39:11What kind of idiot do you take me for?
39:13I'm checking my work.
39:16Okay.
39:17You're doing awesome.
39:18You're just a little slow.
39:20See, what I like is the way you pepper the positive feedback with that kind of soul-deadening
39:26criticism.
39:27It's really fantastic.
39:30You're shy.
39:32Actually, I prefer bashful.
39:36Perfect.
39:37Perfect.
39:37Really?
39:37Mm-hmm.
39:38Perfect.
39:38You have to kind of fit this.
39:40Careful.
39:41What?
39:42Go ahead.
39:42What?
39:42What?
39:43You have to be careful because it's not a real good fit.
39:44Of course I'm careful.
39:45Look at me.
39:45I got this thing.
39:46You know what?
39:47If something goes wrong now, I got two people to blame.
39:49There's a lot of unauthorized touching going on.
39:52That's why we're standing back here.
39:53Okay.
39:54That's why we're standing back here.
39:55Somewhere we can split the difference.
39:56You can stand close enough to talk, but not so close that you've got to get all grabby.
40:00Are they done yet?
40:01I'll let you know when it's done, Mom.
40:03All right?
40:03All right.
40:05I'll give you a sign.
40:07It'll be along the lines of, it's done.
40:10It's done.
40:11It's done.
40:13This is the crimper.
40:19Good job.
40:20We've learned a lot today.
40:22We've learned how to turn white maggots pink.
40:25Turn how to the flies and the pupae and the larvae and the thing and the heat and smell.
40:32They're very instructive.
40:34We're glad to have you.
40:35It's great to be head.
40:38Good luck with this and goodbye.
40:40Goodbye.
40:41Goodbye.
40:43Dennis.
40:44Yes.
40:45That's some kind of team you got going in there.
40:47Those girls.
40:48They are the best.
40:49Man, oh, man.
40:50I don't know how your business could possibly do anything other than succeed like crazy.
40:56That's April and Pam at the helm.
40:57That's right.
40:58We have a certificate for you.
41:01A master of maggotology.
41:04Right.
41:06Presented to Mike Rowe for completing thoughtful, thinking, and stinking.
41:10Forked Tree Ranch, signed by you and your wife.
41:13Right.
41:14This is going to be framed.
41:16And I understand that you guys are always looking for something to snack on, right?
41:22No, we're desperate for food.
41:23We'll eat anything, yeah.
41:24I thought that I would give you this bucket of salmon roe.
41:29It's caviar.
41:31It's salted.
41:32It's ready to go.
41:33All you need is the crackers, and that goes along with the certificate.
41:36I'm pretty sure we don't need crackers.
41:38We got Barsky.
41:39What do you say?
41:40A little caviar, Chief?
41:42Come on.
41:43I'm on a diet.
41:44You're on a diet?
41:45Plus 40 pounds.
41:45Treat yourself.
41:50That's good.
41:53How much time does he have now?
41:55Not long.
41:56Where's nearest hospital?
41:58It's rotten.
41:59Tastes fresh, actually.
42:00It does.
42:00Just like you had a sushi bar.
42:02Dave, I'm going to leave you with the salmon roe.
42:04I'm going to leave you with my eternal thanks.
42:06You're welcome.
42:07I'm going to take my certificate, go home, put it over the mantel.
42:10Well, you take care.
42:11I only had a fireplace.
42:12Okay.
42:12Thanks, Dennis.
42:13You're welcome.
42:14You know, I'm very proud of this program, but I realize over the years I've shown you
42:18some scenes, some things you would have maybe preferred not to have seen.
42:23Some things that you might not be able to forget.
42:27Here's another.
42:28It's Dave Barsky, eating 52 inches of sweet bologna, one bite at a time.
42:36He's vowed to consume the entire tube of meat, unless you go to discovery.com forward
42:43slash dirty jobs and suggest my next dirty adventure.
42:46I don't think he's bluffing.
42:48I've never known him to bluff before, and if you know the show, you know the boy will
42:52eat just about anything and everything in virtually any quantity.
42:57But 52 inches of sweet bologna, roughly nine inches in diameter.
43:04I'm pretty sure it'll kill him.
43:06Discovery.com forward slash dirty jobs.
43:11The hood ornament from hell.
43:13Madison is a huge fan, not just of dirty jobs, but of me. Isn't that right?
43:21Earlier Madison was saying, my gosh, if I can only have a few moments with Mike Rowe, my
43:27whole day, my whole life, my whole existence up to this point would just blossom into a flower
43:33of gratitude.
43:34Isn't that how you put it?
43:35That's how I recall it.
43:36I'm grateful for fans like Madison.
43:39Sincerely grateful.
43:40And the nice thing is, is she knows that, don't you?
43:42She does.
43:43She does.
43:43She does.
43:43She does.
43:44Mm-hmm.
Comments