The only place to hear about the meat industry.

To provide our listenership authentic and genuine successful real stories happening in the U.S. Meat Industry nowadays, we travel to the heart of the Midwest to discover Hertzog Meat Co. This USDA inspected small meat plant, located in Butler, Missouri, opened in 2021 and is proudly providing high-quality American in the Kansas City area. We sat down with Todd Hertzog, owner of Hertzog Meat Co, to ask him how they entered the meat industry market regionally. Todd gives good insights and recommendations to other fellow beef producers seeking to open a new meat processing plant. He also points out the importance of finding the right support and resourceful team leaders in the current meat market.

Continuing with our conversations at AAMP, we sat down with Dr. David Schafer, Professor Emeritus at Kansas State University. Dr. Schafer has been judging cured meat products for more than 50 years.   Meat our host: Dr. David Schafer grew up on a farm in Minnesota and had the privilege of working in the world's first meat laboratory. During his long career he has participated as an official judge in different competitions.  During this interview, Dr. Schafer reveals useful information for meat processors to create high-quality meat products. He also points out some tips to enter products for competition.

Today we are honored to welcome Dr. Terry Houser, an Associate Professor at Iowa State University and Smithfield Foods Chair in Meat Science Extension. Dr. Houser highlights the importance of the Weekly National Carlot Meat Report - USDA where meat processors and retail businesses can analyze current and historical meat prices. He also explains the seasonality effect and the current work force dilemma within the meat industry.

We continue our conversations with meat scientists during the 83rd AAMP show. On this episode, we share our microphone with M.S. Derek Schroeder, a Kill Floor and Meat Processing Specialist at Ultrasource. Many small and even large meat processing facilities are adapting the use of low pressure systems in ground beef patty forming lines. Derek dives into the advantages when processors utilize vacuum stuffers compared to traditional compressing patty machines.

In today's episode, Alex Freeman, CEO of SmartLocker and owner of Agriculture Grant Solutions, joins us at the American Association of Meat Processors 2022 Convention in Des Moines, Iowa to break down the available funding programs to support small and mid-sized meat processors in the U.S. Agriculture Grant Solutions, a meat processor assistance program, was created by Alex to support our local producers by connecting them to financing programs. Freeman discusses the budget financing programs that have been implemented in the United States over the last two administrations, as well as the means of obtaining financial aid for small businesses, which includes not only meat but also agriculture.