The beef checkoff’s Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative was a sponsor of the first-of-its-kind “League of Women in Meat” conference held in Petersham, Massachusetts, at Harvard Forest and Stillman Quality Meats in Hardwick. Approximately 35 women attended the 2-day event, Oct. 16-18, in order to broaden their knowledge of processing beef and pork. Attendees were all from the Northeast region, and their backgrounds ranged from small-scale meat processors and butchers to large online retail meat buyers.
Day One of the conference started with a Master Class in Beef Butchery lead by Chicago-based, Kari Underly. Underly is the Principal and Master Butcher at Range Partners, Inc., and the author of the James Beard Award-nominated “Art of Beef Cutting.” Underly lead the attendees through an in-depth breakdown of a beef carcass, highlighting the new value cuts from the chuck and under-utilized cuts from the round. The evening concluded with a tasting of the new value cuts from the chuck, including the Denver Cut and Ranch Steak as well as lesser-known cuts such as the Bavette Steak and Merlot Cut.
Hannah Raudsepp, owner of Honest Beef Company, based in Boston, commented following the conference, “Any gathering that fosters finding common ground among individuals from more than one part of the value chain is advantageous for all—not least the consumer. The importance of having a grasp on how, as producers, our practices on the hoof impact the product on the plate is critical to our industry having a unified voice.”
Day Two of the conference, sponsored by the Pork Checkoff’s Northeast Pork Association, included a breakdown of a pig carcass.
For more about the beef checkoff, please visit the NEBPI website or MyBeefCheckoff.com, and follow them on Twitter @NortheastBeef or Instagram @NortheastLoveBeef.
UNDERSTANDING THE BEEF CHECKOFF PROGRAM
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program
