Meat to Market is a partnership between the Intertribal Agriculture Council and the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance. Meat to Market is an extensive online business training for livestock producers all across Indian Country, encouraging them to embrace the possibility of direct marketing their meat and providing skills to do so.
Meat to Market will offer over 30 distinct courses as both individual trainings and modules of learning. Courses launched at the 2022 IAC Annual Conference and will continue as a webinar series through early 2024. Webinars are recorded live and uploaded to the IAC Mighty Networks e-learning platform as a free resource.
UPCOMING COURSES
Processor Relationship Building & Communication
October 11 | 10 AM (MT)
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Have you ever struggled to communicate with your processor, and it feels like speaking different languages? Tired of scheduling and fabrication snafus? Processor woes may be common among producers nationwide; we must address communication tactics to solve the issue.
This course will dive deep into the soft skills necessary for a successful relationship with your processor, which commands and guarantees a higher-quality finished product. We will discuss the integrity of your processor relationship and review the communication techniques, collaboration, and creative ideas necessary to cultivate a successful rapport. We focus on empathy and understanding to foster more positive exchanges (and outcomes!) between the producer and processing plant.
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Educators
David Zarling, Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network
Chris Roper, Flower Hill Institute
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Guest Processor
Wade Payne, Quapaw Food Services Authority
Bamm Brewer, Charging Buffalo Meathouse (Pine Ridge)
Cutting, Packaging, & Labeling
October 23 | 9 AM (MT)
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What do you want on your label? Why? How can you get it on there? With regulations and labeling requirements from direct-to-consumer and wholesale, we will discuss label approval via FSIS, processor labeling norms, special claims, and approval overview.
Our educators reveal pathways to finding local regional information on regulations so you can swiftly move through the labeling process. We will also discuss various choices and options for packing, packaging, and merchandising and look into packaging, cut sheets, and cutting through the lens of packing for specific markets.
Educators
Rob Maddock, American Meat Science Association
Laura Bachmeier, AURI
Dr Denise Perry, Independent Consultant
Britni Beck, American Indian Foods Program
Guest Processor
Lara Hays, Looped Square Meat Company
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COURSE DESIGN
The project’s design is grounded in a thorough needs assessment conducted in 2020-2021 in which we surveyed producers across the country to better understand challenges, missing capacity and skills, in order to discover positive pathways for deeper learning.
The curriculum will be centered around a series of webinars and accompanying tools & templates taught by a diverse set of educators, guest speakers, and producers from across all nations.
Our goal is to invite both existing and emerging producers to lean into the beauty and potential of their entrepreneurial endeavors despite what scale they produce at. Our style will emphasize storytelling, case studies, and anecdotal information from producers themselves alongside materials and methodologies from trusted experts across multiple sectors of livestock business operations.