MEAT+POULTRY - April 2015 - 58

I N D U S T R Y E D U C AT I O N

course. "They [Texas Beef Council] see the
benefit that if producers understand better
about producing high-quality beef for the
consumer, then that will improve the product
for the consumer," Hale says.

ADDITIONAL EDUCATION

"All of the
industry
classes we
offer at A&M
help with
our exposure
within the
industry."
- Jeffrey Savell, Texas
A&M

cattle producers about producing quality beef.
The flagship educational activity for this effort
was A&M's Beef 706 course.
"Beef 706 teaches cattle producers about
the food side of their industry," says Dr. Dan
Hale, Texas Agri Life Extension Service. "They
learn a lot about where the value is in the
cattle they raise and ultimately why we are in
the business of raising quality cattle, which is
for a food product for the consumer."
Beef 706 participants learn about the
importance of producing a more-consistent and
high-quality beef product through a series of
hands-on lessons presented by various meatscience faculty, staff and graduate students.
For example, the participants are divided into
groups, allowed to select live cattle (through
video) and then follow the cattle through
grading and a hands-on cutting session, which
allows participants a chance to experience firsthand the differences encountered in carcass
composition. Their resulting information is
then evaluated in terms of the value differences
calculated between the carcasses and how
that translates back to value differences in the
live animals - information that isn't typically
relayed to the producer.
The Texas Beef Council sponsors the
attendance of approximately 30 producers per

MEAT+ POULTRY | 04.15 | www.meatpoultry.com

In addition to the beef courses offered to
industry professionals through Texas A&M, the
university also offers a similar styled hands-on
Pork 101 course. The course is hosted by the
American Meat Science Association (AMSA)
and sponsored by Elanco Animal Health.
The program, which is also sponsored by the
American Association of Meat Processors
(AAMP), American Society of Animal Science
(ASAS), North American Meat Institute
Foundation (NAMIF) and the Southwest Meat
Association (SMA), is available to anyone
involved in the production, processing and
marketing of pork at Texas A&M, May 19-21,
and at Iowa State Univ., Oct. 19-21.
The Pork 101 program was designed
to update participants on quality and
consistency issues in the pork industry. It
includes insight on value differences in swine,
pork carcasses, pork primals and processedpork products due to quality variation.
Participants have the chance to evaluate
eight live hogs. The animals will be processed
during the class with participants learning
about grading, food safety and processing.
Finally, the class will make and sample
processed product from the hogs including
pumped loins, bacon, hams and sausage.
Other courses available to the meat
industry include a two-day grass-fed beef
conference, which explores all facets of
grass-fed beef production including nutrition,
herd health, carcass fabrication, marketing
and sustainability. In addition, several Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)
training courses are offered throughout the year
by the meat science department, in conjunction
with the International HACCP Alliance.

CRAZY FOR BBQ
Hands down, the most-popular courses the
meat-science department offers involve Texas
barbecue. The department added several
barbecue-centric classes in the past four to five
years and they continue to draw participants.

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MEAT+POULTRY - April 2015

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