Next NMPAN webinar:
NMPAN webinars are recorded and archived below, by topic.
A few selected webinars from other groups are also listed.
Click on a webinar’s title for the slides, speaker info, and recording.
Topic Areas (click to jump to a topic):
- Local Meat and Poultry Processing: the Big Picture
- Regulations and Policy
- Plant Operations
- Management and Accounting Tools for Processors
- Business Planning and Plant Design
- Food Safety & Quality
- Mobile Units
- Waste Management
- Working Effectively With Your Processor
- Animal Health & Welfare Best Practices
- Selling and/or Marketing Meat
Local Meat and Poultry Processing: the Big Picture
The National Meat Summits Steering Committee: Introduction and Opportunities to Collaborate
Date: June 20, 2023
Join NMPAN and Martha Sullins of Colorado State University to learn about the recently formed National Meat Summits Steering Committee, which works to build connections, increase knowledge, grow collective skills and advance market opportunities for local and regional meat supply chains.
Understanding Halal Certification for Meat Processors
Date: July 20, 2022
Have you thought about selling Halal meat? How about offering Halal slaughter at your plant? Halal certified food is expected to reach nearly $2 trillion in sales by 2024. Learn more about what is true Halal meat and how a meat processor can get certified and inspected to do Halal slaughter and processing of meat and poultry. Hear from two experts of the well-respected non-profit Halal Monitoring Services, a project of the Shariah Board of America.
Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections on 10 years in the Niche Meat Processing Sector
Duration: 76 minutes
What has happened in the world of niche meats and processing over the last decade? What does the future look like? How has NMPAN impacted businesses in the niche meat sector? Leaders in the world of niche meats shared their thoughts in this unique panel discussion.
Panelists included:
- Dr. Lauren Gwin, co-founder and director of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN)
- Mike Lorentz, owner of Lorentz Meats in Cannon Falls, MN
- Cory Carman, owner of Carman Ranch in Wallowa, OR
- Joe Cloud, co-owner/general manager of True & Essential Meats in Harrisonburg, VA
- Samantha Garwin, president of Fleishers Craft Butchery in New York, NY
- Heather Sanford, owner of The Piggery, Ithaca, NY
Building the Capacity of Small Meat Processors: Successes and Lessons from North Carolina
Plant in a Box: A Solution for USDA-Inspected Poultry Processing?
Think Inside the Box: Containerized Meat Processing Solutions
Local Meat to Local Schools: Lessons Learned from the Montana Beef to School Project
Duration: 67 minutes
The Montana Beef to School Project is a three-year collaborative project between several Montana beef producers and processors, schools and many stakeholders represented in the Montana Beef to School Coalition. In this recorded webinar you will hear from one of the project leaders, Thomas Bass of Montana State University Extension along with one of the key processing partners, Jeremy Plummer of Lower Valley Processing in Kalispell, about what they learned over the three years of this project.
Some of what you will learn in this webinar includes:
- Discover the creative ways schools are working with producers and processors in Montana to procure local Montana beef.
- Bring tested beef to school strategies to your own community through lessons learned from case studies across six beef to school partnerships in Montana.
- Hear from the processor about the equipment, ordering systems, distribution, pricing, and other logistics of selling beef to schools.
Local Meat to Local Institutions- Challenges & Opportunities for Farmers & Packers
*Unfortunately, due to a technical error, this webinar was not recorded. You can scroll through the slide decks below under each speaker.
This panel included a farmer, a regional meat brand, and a vertically-integrated niche meat processor discussing the pros, cons, logistics and pricing of selling meat to institutions such as schools, hospitals, universities, and corporate kitchens. Is this the mid-scale market you have been dreaming of? We also heard briefly from a USDA AMS local foods specialist regarding grant and loan programs that could be used to advance this type of market channel diversification. This webinar was co-sponsored by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service as part of a cooperative agreement with NMPAN.
- Samantha Schaffstall, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. See Sam’s slides here: NMPAN_Sschaffstall.pdf
- Kathryn Quanbeck, Carman Ranch. This regional meat brand that started with just one grassfed beef producer and has now partnering with 6 other producers specializes in grassfed beef and pastured pork for the wholesale and retail trade. They currently process and market around 2,000 beef a year. See Kathryn’s NMPAN Webinar – Carman Ranch 6.25.19.pdf.
- Carole Soule, Miles Smith Farm.
- Greg Gunthorp, Gunthorp Farms & Brushy Prairie Packing.
Regulations and Policy
Deregulation for Small Meat Processors: the Good, the Bad & the Ugly
This discussion, led by David Zarling of NMPAN and Denise Perry, PhD, addresses risks and rewards that could result in the Federal Government giving meat processing regulation back to the states to decide what regulations warrant what type of sales for small & very small processors. We hear from the NMPAN community about questions, concerns, benefits and possible solutions to how we could deregulate meat processing and sales but still ensure the American public receives wholesome products.
Know Your Rights: Understanding Non-Compliance Records and Navigating Appeals Process
Duration: 59 minutes
This webinar featured Dr. Michael Fisher, former FSIS employee and Dr. Denise Perry, plant manager at Lorentz Meats, discussing what are NRs and how to appeal them. They also stress the importance of keeping emotion out of your conversations with your inspectors, particularly when it comes to NRs. Learn some valuable takeaways in this webinar.
Engagement with FSIS Policy: Experiences From The Field
Hear from a panel of speakers who are engaging with USDA FSIS policy as it relates to small meat plants and niche meats. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, with NMPAN’s help, is steering a small plant policy group that is meeting quarterly with top FSIS leadership to address policy concerns for small operators. These concerns include issues around humane handling rules, inspector training, pathogen testing, labeling, outreach to small plants, funding, and more. Learn what these folks are up to, what concerns are most pressing for them, and what they believe are potential policy levers for change. We will conclude with next steps and ways others can get involved in having their voices heard. Speakers included: Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Carrie Balkom, American Grassfed Association, Brian Sapp, White Oak Pastures, Denise Perry, Lorentz Meats, Greg Gunthorp, Gunthorp Family Farm, and Lauren Gwin of NMPAN.
USDA-FSIS Draft Compliance Guide for Mobile Slaughter Units
Date: July 13, 2010
Duration: 1 hour
On May 24, 2010 USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a draft “Mobile Slaughter Unit Compliance Guide.” The guide was written for owners and managers of a new or existing red meat or poultry MSU who want to operate under federal inspection. On this webinar we explain the guidance and answer questions with the help of a Policy Officer from USDA-FSIS.
Interstate Shipment of State-Inspected Meat Proposed Rule
Date: October 20, 2009
Duration: 45 min.
The 2008 Farm Bill included a provision to allow the interstate sale of state-inspected meat and poultry. In September 2009, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service published proposed rules for how this program will work. On this webinar, we explain the proposed rules, discuss “messy details” and areas of controversy, and give background on the issue.
Meat Labels and Label Claims
Date: July 8, 2009
Duration: 90 minutes – Webinar no longer hosted, but summary and presentation materials still available.
Meat labels can be confusing for producers, processors, and consumers. Officials from USDA/FSIS Labeling and Program Delivery Division and Iowa Meat and Poultry Inspection, and the operations manager of Organic Valley’s meat division explain the label approval process, voluntary label claims, updated requirements, and how FSIS interprets claims defined by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Poultry Processing Exemptions
Date: March 10, 2009
Duration: 90 Minutes
Poultry processing exemptions can be difficult for producers, processors, and even regulators to sort out. Recognizing that states have the ability to individually modify these regulations, this webinar attempts to clear up some confusion by offering both an FSIS and a state perspective. Additionally, three exempt processors overview their operations.
Poultry Processing Exemptions II (2010)
Date: December 7, 2010
Duration: 1 hour
The federal poultry processing exemptions remain confusing for producers, processors, and even regulators, especially since most states have added their own modifications to the federal regulations. In this webinar, a policy official from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service explains the exemptions, and a state official from North Carolina explains how that state recently decided to allow one of the most important federal exemptions.
Poultry Processing Exemptions Revisited (2017)
Duration: 72 minutes
Nutritional Labeling of Meat and Poultry: the New Rules
Date: October 4, 2011
Duration: 1 hour
Plant Operations
NMPAN Live: Optimizing Production Yields for Profit and Efficiency
In this NMPAN Live, join Charlie Bierne, Fabrication Operations Specialist, while he looks to pinpoint where those unnoticed financial losses accumulate in your production, often resembling hidden pennies. These issues frequently emerge in product output yields. By optimizing these yields, we can uncover and address these concealed financial drains, leading to enhanced profitability and operational effectiveness.
Management and Accounting Tools for Processors
Integrated Yield Tracking & Traceability Software for Co-Packing Facilities
Date: April 5, 2019
Duration: 72 minutes
Watch Donna Moore of Piedmont Custom Meats (North Carolina) discuss the Minotaur program she uses in her two USDA multi-species plants and Joe Cloud of T & E Meats (Virginia) discuss the brand new Carlisle Technology program he uses in his USDA plant. Both co-pack for hundreds of farmers and have to manage complex systems of meat tracking and accounting. These tracking/traceability programs can save labor, reduce error, improve customer satisfaction, and open up new market opportunities.
Product Costing for Meat Processors and Marketers
Duration: 1 hour
Order & Inventory Management
Duration: 1 hour
How to keep track of everything? Three meat companies showcase the computer systems they are using: why they use them, how they work, and how much they cost.
Third-Party Audits for Small and Mid-Sized Meat Processors
Duration: 68 minutes
Voluntary Third Party Audits for Meat Processors: Organic Certification and Animal Welfare Approved
Date: November 30, 2017
Duration: 70 minutes
Small meat plants serve a wide diversity of customers. Some of those customers may be asking for your plant to offer organic processing or to comply with special animal welfare practices so that they can market to certain customers and assure the integrity of their meat. Could going through the process of organic certification or passing an animal welfare review open up new customer segments for you? Is it worth it? What kind of changes to your infrastructure, equipment, or SOPs might be needed? Will the benefits outweigh the potential costs? Speakers in this webinar included: Tim Holmes of Animal Welfare Approved, Sep Harvin of Williamsburg Packing Co., Aaron Zeis of Oregon Tilth, and Tracy Smarciarz of Heritage Meats.
Cost Analysis: Are You Making Money?
Duration: 60 minutes
The Business of Dry Curing
There has been significant consumer interest in dry cured charcuterie products, like salumi, in recent years. Consumers love it, chefs want it and it is a good way for producers and processors to get more value out of a carcass and/or really set their brand apart. Yet making dry cured products can be challenging and not always cost effective. On this webinar we’ll cover the Business of Dry Curing: we’ll hear about the growth of artisan cured meats, the basics of the business and talk to two charcuterie processors about how they got started, their day to day operations and the costs and revenue for dry curing.
Plant Management Strategies to Reduce Fall Season Stress
Date: Sept. 9, 2014
Duration: 1 hour
Small Plant Operators: do you dread the busy fall season? It can be the most lucrative time of year for small meat processing facilities, but is also often the most stressful. Your plant is at full capacity between fee-for-service processing customers, hunters and holiday orders, customers want it all and they want it right now, overtime pay spikes, equipment breaks down, and you and your employees are stressed out. Sounds familiar? On this webinar, Nick McCann shares real life examples and proven strategies for solving common problems in meat plant management: excessive overtime, stressed out employees, customer complaints, and quality problems that often occur during the busy fall season. (SLIDES ONLY: RECORDING NOT AVAILABLE)
Profiles in Small-Scale Processing: Blue Ridge Meats
Date: May 28, 2015
Duration: 1 hour
What makes a small-scale processing plant successful? We get asked that question on a regular basis, by NMPAN members and many others. People want to hear from operators who are making it work, using creative and innovative approaches to tackle the difficult challenge of profitability for a small-scale plant.On this webinar, we got a “behind the scenes” peek at Blue Ridge Meats, a small, USDA-inspected slaughter and processing facility in Front Royal, VA. Lois Aylestock, VP, described how they manage day to day operations, getting and keeping customers, bookkeeping, employee management, and more. She told us about systems they’ve developed, what has worked (and what hasn’t), and — this is a big one — what she wishes she knew before they got started.
Humane Handling at the Processing Plant
Date: June 17, 2015
Duration: 1 hour
On this webinar, we learned about humane handling practices at the processing plant. We discussed steps producers and processors can take to ensure humane treatment and how animal handling impacts meat quality. We spoke with two humane handling experts, Anna Bassett and Tim Holmes, about the research that backs AWA’s technical info and slaughter standards as well as their Animal Welfare Officer and Poultry Welfare Officer courses.Introducing a 2-part series on Human Resources Best Practices
Part 1- Find Em’, Keep Em’: How to find, hire, train, & retain good labor for your meat plant
Date: May 2, 2018
Duration: 71 minutes
Hear from 3 meat processors different strategies and best practices for finding, hiring, training, and retaining decent staff for their facilities. Panelists included Joe Cloud of T & E Meats in Virginia, a USDA inspected red meat plant that co-packs for several hundred farmers; Bruce Hennessey of Maple Wind Farms in Vermont, a USDA inspected on-farm poultry plant and livestock farm; and Evan Gunthorp of Gunthorp Farms in Indiana, a USDA inspected on-farm red meat and poultry plant and livestock farm. Find a recording of this webinar here.
Business Planning and Plant Design
Meat in the Middle Webinar: Paicines Ranch Learning Center & Cienega Capital
Presented by Paicines Ranch Learning Center & Cienega Capital, this webinar features a conversation on the middle of the meat supply chain and what it takes to make a processing operation financially successful. Esther Park and Mike Lorentzdiscuss what conditions make for an economically viable and maybe even investable plant, and what the supply challenges are from his viewpoint.
Taking the Long View: Our Story of Planning to Launch a New USDA-Inspected Facility in Southeast Michigan
Date: March 10th, 2022
Duration: 75 minutes
Feeling stressed about planning to launch a new meat processing facility with USDA inspection? This group of entrepreneurs in SE Michigan sure were. Now, as a result of their patient planning and due diligence, they are confident in their business plan and future success in the meat industry. Join this webinar to review their top lessons learned from this unique planning journey that started in 2014. The food business consultancy New Venture Advisors (NVA) completed Damian’s Craft Meats feasibility study in October 2021. After bootstrapping the business and then receiving $120,000 in grant funds, the group is finally preparing to bring their vision to fruition in 2022.
Join the panel of three speakers as they share what they learned from this planning process, including the benefits and challenges of:
- Securing grants, based on our experience as a 2020 USDA Local Food Promotion Planning grant recipient.
- Collaborating with a consultant to complete a feasibility study and support business planning, facility drawings, and identifying partners.
- Collaborative planning and working with others in the meat value chain, including farmers, distributors, and intermediaries.
Speakers include:
Damian Rivera is an entrepreneur in the meat industry who apprenticed in USDA-inspected and custom-exempt slaughterhouses prior to launching DCM. His close connections with local producers and experience in humane handling, slaughter, and specialized butchery and cutting are what have led to higher demand for his services. These connections originated in Mexico with his family’s agricultural roots.-
Rosemary Linares is currently a consultant to the nonprofit industry with extensive experience in management and strategic planning. Slaughtering is in her DNA, passed down from her great-grandfather who launched their family’s meat processing business before World War II.
Andrea J Carbine is a consultant with New Venture Advisors who specializes in food facility planning and development and supports projects nationally in the good food space.
Buy or Build: Evaluating buying, renovating, or building a new meat plant
Duration: 65 minutes
Panel discussion with three USDA inspected meat processors (Jessica Smith Roosa of This Old Farm, Tracy Smaciarz of Heritage Meats, Matthew Campbell of West Texas Meats) who have either purchased existing plants, renovated them, or built brand new facilities. What was their thought process? Pros and cons of how they went about launching their plants and how they financed them. William Kitsch, Vice President of Agricultural Lending at Ephrata National Bank in Ephrata, PA rounded out the discussion to talk from a bankers perspective as well as share some potential financing options.
This Study May Save You Millions: Writing a quality feasibility study for your meat business
Duration: 65 minutes
Co-Op Owned and Operated Processing Plants: Cattle Producers of Washington and the LPCA Plant
Duration: 60 minutes
Innovations in Wastewater Management for Small Meat Processors
Duration: 50 minutes
The Business of Meat Processing: Planning and Profitability
Building a Small Meat Processing Plant
Duration: 1 hour
Food Safety & Quality
All about making delicious smoked meats on a commercial scale while operating your smokehouse safely (and not burning down your plant!). Our expert panelists discussed smokehouse types, picking the right equipment/size for your operation, smokehouse operations, recordkeeping, value-added meat products, cleaning, and safety. Speakers included Mike Smucker of Smuckers Meats, Collier Nix of Kerres USA, and Jon Frohling of Scottpec. Please note this webinar had technical difficulties the first 10 minutes and Mike Smucker was unable to present his slides. So the bulk of the webinar was with Collier Nix & Jon Frohling.
Microbiology 101 for Small Meat Processors
Microbiology 201 for Small Meat Processors
Controlling Listeria: What You Need to Know about USDA’s New Guidance
In September, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued revised guidance about controlling Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. On this webinar, Penn State University food safety scientists Martin Bucknavage and Catherine Cutter explain the revised guidance document and what processors need to know to comply.
This webinar was co-sponsored by the American Association of Meat Processors, the North American Meat Association.
Natural Curing for Meats
Date: March 4, 2010
Duration: 1 hour
As interest rises in cured meats made without synthetic nitrates/nitrites, processors are seeking information on safe and effective methods. On this webinar, meat scientists, a processor, and an organic meats marketer explain ingredients, processes, and challenges to natural curing, as well as product labeling issues.
HACCP in an Hour
HACCP — Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point — has been around for decades as a food safety management system in many different industries. Starting in 2000, USDA required all inspected meat & poultry establishments to have a HACCP plan in place and to follow that plan. So what is it? How does it work? What are the basics? On this webinar, you’ll learn the ABCs of HACCP — vocabulary and basic concepts — from an experienced HACCP instructor, Jonathan Campbell from Penn State University.
Mobile Units
Mobile Slaughter Units (MSUs): An International Perspective
Mobile Slaughter Units (Red Meat): Reports from the Field and Future Directions
Mobile Poultry Processing Units: Reports from the Field
Mobile Poultry Processing Units in California, Montana, and Vermont
Duration: 1 hour
Coordinators of three new mobile poultry processing units explain how the units work and discuss challenges, strategies, and lessons learned in bringing these units on line.
Mobile Processing Units: What’s the State of the Art?
Duration: 1 hour
This webinar features the first USDA-inspected red meat MPU; the latest ideas and options for mobile units; policy challenges to getting an MPU up & running in Montana; and an economic feasibility cost-calculator spreadsheet for MPUs.
USDA-FSIS Webinars on Mobile Slaughter Units
Duration: 90 minutes each
Description:These two webinars, offered by USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service, explain red meat and poultry mobile slaughter units. Presentations cover technical and practical aspects, regulatory compliance, and financial assistance programs. Recordings and slides available (January 2010).
Waste Management
Innovations in Waste Management for Meat Processors
Date: May 30 2023
Duration: 90 Minutes
As we all know, small and mid-sized meat processors are running out of options for solid waste management. Landfills are now charging exorbitant rates, if they’ll take processing waste at all. Many states do not allow composting, and rendering companies have all but disappeared.
Alternative Wastewater Treatment for Meat Processors
Duration: 1 hour, 4 minutes
Panelists included:
–Brian Sapp, Director of Operations, White Oak Pastures, Georgia
–Greg Gunthorp, Owner/Operator, Brushy Prairie Packing/Gunthorp Family Farms, Indiana
-Holly Zink, Co-Owner of Sunnyside Farms Market and Sunnyside Meats, Colorado
Waste Management at the Processing Plant
Date: March 30, 2016
Duration: 1 hour
Managing, treating and removing solid waste and wastewater often comes at a significant cost for small-scale meat processing facilities. For those new to meat processing, or those looking for new ideas for their plant, this webinar provided a general overview on waste management for both solid waste and wastewater. We discussed wastewater management, basic systems and pre-treatment options, and regulations. We also covered solid waste streams (things like manure, bones, trim, etc.) and solutions for dealing with those various waste streams.
Innovations in Wastewater Management for Small Meat Processors
Date: July 23, 2013
Duration: 50 minutes
Finding an affordable and legal way to manage wastewater can be very challenging for small meat and poultry processors. In this webinar, you will learn about an innovative, economic approach that a small, USDA-inspected processor in rural Indiana is using with great results: a constructed wetlands system. Greg Gunthorp of Brushy Prairie Packing and Gunthorp Farms, and Craig Chivers, environmental sanitarian with LaGrange County Health Department, explain how the system is designed and how it works, give data about its effectiveness in improving water quality, and discuss costs, the permitting process, and other aspects of using this type of system for a meat plant.
Alternatives to Rendering: Butcher Waste Composting
Date: December 1, 2009
Duration: 1 hour
Disposal of offal and butcher waste is often increasingly difficult and expensive, as renderers close down or raise prices. Composting this waste has been demonstrated as a viable, safe alternative. An expert in butcher waste composting explains how it’s done, and a small meat processor in Oregon describes his composting operation, including regulations and permitting process.
Working Effectively With Your Processor
Understanding the Processor’s Language
Date: September 15, 2009
Duration: 60 minutes
The Executive Director of the American Association of Meat Processors explains how processors do what they do, from yield grades and cutting specifications, inspection and other regulatory requirements, meat handing and shelf life, improving communications with your processor, and more.
Working Effectively with Your Processor
Date: August 24, 2011
Duration: 1 hour
Educating Your Processing Customers: Customer Manuals
Some processors give their new processing customers a “how to work with us” manual, to help with the education process. On this webinar, we learned about manuals used by two small plants: Wells Jenkins Wells, in North Carolina, and Homegrown Poultry, in Idaho. We also showed an online model you can use to write your own.
Finger Lakes Meat Project: Meat Locker & Meat Suite
The Finger Lakes Meat Project is a regional initiative in New York State to grow the freezer trade (sales of meat in bulk quantities such as whole, half and quarter animals) to benefit livestock farmers and consumers. The Project consists of educational efforts, an online directory of farms called The Meat Suite and two community freezers in Central NY called The Meat Locker. On this archived webinar recording, you can learn more about the project, how it got started and its value to local farms.
(Partner Webinar) Food Animal Concerns Trust: Direct Marketing Meat- The Logistics of Meat Processing
Recording of webinar here
Slide presentation only here
Animal Health & Welfare Best Practices
NMPAN Live: Humane Handling Q&A with the Humane Handling Institute
Dr. Kurt Vogel and Ashlynn Kirk of the Humane Handling Institute at University of Wisconsin -River Falls will explain their exciting new program and field all of your most pressing humane handling questions!
We troubleshoot handling and stunning related challenges, beginning with scenarios that we have experienced at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Then, we discuss the benefits of implementing a robust humane handling program in slaughter establishments of all sizes.
Understanding the Key Diseases of Hogs for Producers and Processors
Hear from an expert panel as they discuss the following topics, relevant to both hog producers and process.
- What are the swine diseases we may want to be worried about? African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, & others?
- What are the current best practices to mitigate spread in pastured production?
- What is SHIP and how will the concept help small and pastured producers?
- How does this apply to processors? How can they prevent pig disease transmission at their facilities?
Panelists include: Dr. Michele Pfannestiel, Dr. Tyler Holck, Dr. Giovanni Trevisan, and Jordan Kraft.
Watch the recording here.
Writing a Robust Systematic Humane Handling & Slaughter Plan
Do you slaughter animals under inspection (or want to)? Then watch this webinar featuring Ben Meyer of Revel Meat Company who recently completed a Robust Systematic Humane Handling & Slaughter Plan with the help of a consultant and is now happy to share it with others. Also on the panel was Dr. Sallee Dixson, DVM, of the USDA FSIS. Dr. Dixson is currently a Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) Relief with Denver District. Her career with FSIS includes five years focused on the humane handling (HH) of livestock and good commercial practices (GCP) for poultry. As the first Humane Handling Enforcement Coordinator, she served as the primary national FSIS contact for issues on HH and GCP issues, oversaw the national coordination of HH/GCP policy implementation for FSIS, and coordinated with the 15 DVMSs on correlation of HH/GCP activities among districts.
Dr. Sallee Dixson’s slide show presentation
Revel Meat Co (formerly Mark’s Meats) 2019 Robust Systematic Humane Handling Plan
Consciousness Training Posters (displayed around Revel Meat Co. kill floor), zip file
Shot Placement Posters (displayed around Revel Meat Co. kill floor), zip file
Best Practices for Kosher & Halal Slaughter in Small USDA-inspected Slaughterhouses
NMPAN was thrilled to have an hour webinar with Dr. Joe Regenstein, one of the world’s foremost experts on religious animal slaughter, to better understand what exactly is Kosher and Halal animal slaughter, how it can be done under USDA inspection, and what are the best practices to assure humane kill under these religious tenets.
Dr. Joe M. Regenstein is a Professor Emeritus of Food Science in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, a member of the Program of Jewish Studies and the Comparative Muslim Societies Program. Dr. Regenstein heads the Cornell Kosher and Halal Food Initiative (CKHFI). Dr. Regenstein is now on the advisory board of the Food Diversity Innovation Program at Texas A&M University and on an advisory board for the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America. Dr. Regenstein has also worked on a halal standards committee of the Islamic Society of North American and on a committee to develop an accreditation program for the Muslim Society of Britain.
Slide presentation can be found here 
OSUKH2019(1).ppt
An additional paper Dr. Joe authored that deep dives into Kosher Slaughter practices can be found here 
kosherCompRev(1).pdf
Western Meat School Webinar Series: Animal Handling Best Practices from Farm to Slaughterhouse
Keep your livestock happy and low-stress at the end of their lives. This is more humane and preserves good meat quality. Webinar features Dr. Ron Gill of Texas A & M AgriLife Extension and Stockmanship & Stewardship.
Learning objectives included:
-sorting & loading infrastructure on farm
-humane animal handling
-transportation & unloading at slaughterhouse
-reducing animal stress at the end of their lives
Selling and/or Marketing Meat
NMPAN Live: Ask Me Anything– Market Channels and Pricing For Each, Intro to Wholesaling Meat
Join NMPAN Community members as they ask Kathryn Quanbeck anything about wholesale meat sales: selling to retail grocery stores, foodservice or institutions. Kathryn, Meat Sales expert and NMPAN Research Manager, discusses everything from how to find customers, how to price and package your products, promotions and sales, order timing and cadence, transportation and delivery, and invoicing.
NMPAN Live: Regenerative Brand Strategies for Small Meat Brands
Please join Claire Everson, founder of Western Reign Creative (WRC), for a discussion on creating healthy impacts for people, the planet and profitability through creative storytelling and regenerative brand strategies. During workshop, Claire will give a framework for decision-making that builds compounding returns within their business, increasing the lifetime value of the customer and building resilience within their industry.
NMPAN Live – Email Marketing Basics: Raising the Steaks with Mailchimp
In this webinar, Mara Steinitz, of Taste Profit Marketing, demonstrates how to make a simple newsletter template on MailChimp before answering the audience’s email marketing questions. Learn how Email marketing can be easy, efficient and worth your time!
Western Meat School Webinar Series: Farming the Internet- Building your Customer Base through Social Media
Learn how to connect with new customers and cultivate loyal customers for your meat business (or other farm products) by strategically using social media and other online communication tools. Join Dahlia Dill of Chandler Pond Farm from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont as she shares what she has learned about best practices. This farm not only sells grassfed beef, but also berries, maple syrup, hay, vegetables, and other value-added products. They have a seasonal farmstand as well as an online store where they ship products across the nation direct to consumers. Their Facebook business page has over 2,500 followers and their Instagram page has nearly 1,500.
The Pork Checkoff & Niche Pork: Resources, consumers trends, and producer voices
In this webinar, we discussed the value, insights, and resources the Pork Checkoff brings to the niche producer community. Also hear from two niche pork producers about their marketing, consumer engagement and trends. Speakers included: Todd Rodibaugh – Director of Producer and State Engagement, National Pork Board; Chris Jones- Director of Marketing, Promotions, & Partnerships, National Pork Board; Matt Beach – An independent, niche producer from Missouri; and
Logan Thornton – Producer from Flying Pig Farm in Idaho.
Slides only are available here: Pork Board Slides
Matthew Lawrence, Marble Creek Farmstead & Marble City Meats USDA plant, AL
Adrienne Larrew, Corner Post Meats, CO
Brian Brozovic, Painted Hills Natural Beef, OR
