Meat and Poultry Processing Kansas

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Commodities

• Animal Products: meat

Practices

• Animal Production: meat processing, meat processing facilities, meat product quality/safety
• Education and Training: extension, technical assistance, workshop
• Farm Business Management: value added
• Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems

Kansas State University is the working group leader that will facilitate local training and outreach programs in the North Central SARE region of the United States. This working group will serve as a regional network to develop additional training for producers seeking to gain entry into a meats business, and for existing businesses to train their workforce, especially hands-on opportunities to supplement online learning. In collaboration with Extension Specialists in the SARE North Central Region and the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law they will develop written and online educational resources for producers and processors to assist them with regulation compliance. In collaboration with the Wallace Center at Winrock International, funding will help support an inaugural Midwest Meat Summit. Other educational in-person workshops and training will be developed by Kansas State University for producers and processors in the North Central Region. 

Project Goals

1. Support the development of training opportunities and educational materials about meat and poultry processing for place-based needs, especially relationships between farmers and processors. Information will be relevant to the needs of small- or medium-farmers and ranchers, historically underserved individuals and communities, and production systems that include fisheries and other animal operations that are important to diverse cultures.
2. Address demand from niche markets like small flocks/herds, mobile processing units, local fisheries, on-site processing, farm-to-fork eateries and boutique grocers including those that are maintained by historically underserved producers and communities.