Next NMPAN Webinars:
In planning. To be announced soon.
All NMPAN webinars are open to the public and free of charge.
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
- Management and Accounting Tools for Processors
- Business Planning and Plant Design
- Food Safety
- Mobile Units
- Waste Management
- Working Effectively With Your Processor
- Animal Welfare Best Practices
Local Meat and Poultry Processing: the Big Picture
Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections on 10 years in the Niche Meat Processing Sector
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
Local Meat Processing: Successes and Innovations
Local meat and poultry can’t get to market without a processor, but processors are pulled in many directions: Farmers would like more processing options, but the kind of processing needed depends on the market, the regulations are complex, and even with premium-priced meats, the profit margins are slim.
So how can local meat processing survive … and even thrive? On this webinar, Lauren Gwin and Arion Thiboumery, co-founders of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network, share the results of their research on this topic, featuring innovations and lessons learned from successful processors around the country. We also heard from several regional support efforts — in Vermont, New York, and North Carolina — to improve access to local processing.
To Build or Not to Build: Lessons Learned from New Processing Ventures
Building the Capacity of Small Meat Processors: Successes and Lessons from North Carolina
Talk is Cheap … and Efficient! Facilitating value chain development without costly new infrastructure
Let’s face it: food hubs are sexy! So are other Good Food infrastructure projects, such as regionally-scaled meat processing plants. And for good reason: these businesses are often filling gaps or bottlenecks in regional and local food systems. However, sometimes it’s not a LACK of infrastructure that leads to bottlenecks; it is incomplete or inefficient USE of the infrastructure that stymies the system. “Value Chain Coordinators” are people who work to connect the dots in a value chain. They ensure the right people, goods and resources connect with each other. Most often value chain coordinators work outside day-to-day business operations, a vantage point that offers a unique perspective on the optimal solutions in a regional market. This expanded webinar dives deep into the approaches people across the country are taking to improve the food system without costly new infrastructure. NMPAN Director Lauren Gwin discusses the critical role of the value chain facilitator in local and regional meat processing.
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
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.
Regulations and Policy
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.
Validation of Dried and Fermented Meats: Tools for Small Processors
Specialty fermented and dried meat products, from jerky to biltong, are growing in popularity, and an increasing number of small meat processors are making these products for their own sales or on a co-packing basis. HACCP regulations require these processors to use “validated” processes — that is, processes scientifically proven to kill dangerous pathogens. That kind of scientific support can be hard to track down. On this webinar, we learned about tools that small processors can use to assure their products are safe and in compliance with regulations. This webinar was an online version of a recent symposium by these speakers at the 2015 International Association for Food Protection Conference in Portland, Oregon.
Cooperative Interstate Shipment: How’s It Working Out?
Cooperative Interstate Shipment: Updates from FSIS
USDA-FSIS Draft Compliance Guide for Mobile Slaughter Units
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
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
Duration: 90 minutes
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
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)
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)
Read more here:: NMPAN Webinars
