Meat quality workshop offered in Fairbanks
February 5, 2018
A University of Idaho Extension livestock educator will lead an Alaska meat quality
assurance training Feb. 9-10 in Fairbanks.
Individuals of all ages and levels of experience may participate in the free workshop,
which will include cutting demonstrations and quality and yield grading of beef, sheep
and pork on Feb. 9, and quality assurance training on Feb. 10.
John Anderson, a 4-H leader who raises beef, coordinated the training. Sarah Baker,
an associate professor and livestock Extension educator from Custer County, Idaho,
will lead the training.
“It’s a best practices approach to handling your animals to get the best meat quality,”
Anderson said.
The workshop will meet Feb. 9 at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank from 9 a.m. to
11:30 a.m. and at 1 p.m. at Mid-State Meats in North Pole. Participants will taste
different grades of beef and various cuts of meat, looking at tenderness, juiciness
and flavor. The workshop will continue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Food Bank
and will cover ethics, animal health and welfare, record keeping, and feeds and nutrition
and their relationship to the end product quality.
The Tanana District 4-H/FFA Livestock Committee and the Alaska Farm Bureau are sponsoring
the training. 4-H and FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) are youth development
programs of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. For
more information about the workshop, contact Anderson at 907-490-8117 or at anderson.john118@gmail.com.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Debbie Carter, 907-474-5406, dscarter@alaska.edu