Author: Gregg Rentfrow
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Agriculture and Extension Leadership Development
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the need for trained meat processors. The University of Kentucky Meat Cutting School hosted three processing clinics in 2023; one, pork processing and two, beef processing workshops. The Pork Processing Workshop had 14 people in attendance from four states, whereas a total of 10 people attended the Beef Processing Workshops. These workshops are 2 1/2 day, hands-on trainings designed to introduce the participants to meat processing. The majority of the students are older (>30 years old) and either want to learn the skills in order to change careers or they want to learn more about home meat processing. A small number of the attendees are homesteaders/off-the-grid people who want to learn the skills for survival. The University of Kentucky Meat Cutting School has been training meat processors for 17 years and plans to offer more trainings in 2024.