Meat Processing Offers Students in North Dakota New Skills and Opportunities

In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture

Students across North Dakota have more career options thanks to expanded ag education courses in meat processing.

With more than two cattle for every citizen in the state, many high school and college students are pursuing advanced training to foster this expanding career path. Offering hands-on meat processing training and certificates in high schools and colleges is making a significant impact throughout North Dakota.

See more: Where to Buy Local Beef in North Dakota

Skills in the Making

Minot High School in north-central North Dakota offers Game and Meat Processing, a two-hour class open to 10th, 11th and 12th graders.

Students learn how to identify and process beef, lamb, pork, poultry and wild game while gaining experience making sausage, jerky, bacon and ham. They also acquire essential skills to safely operate meat processing equipment and discover creative ways to market meat products.

“We have four ag teachers and roughly 400 ag students each year at our high school,” says Lance Van Berkom, agriculture educator at Minot High School. “I teach Meat Processing to around 30 students a year and am excited that our new high school will include a new meat processing lab.”

Minot Public Schools broke ground on the new high school in November 2022, and it is expected to open in fall 2024.

“Over my 30 years teaching, I’ve seen the influence our ag program has had on the community,” Van Berkom says.

Learning on the Go

Not all North Dakota high schools have a meat processing lab. To add hands-on training for students who need access to an on-site meat processing lab, Southeast Region Career and Technology Center (SRCTC) introduced a mobile meats lab in 2006.

The idea came from the director, Dan Spellerberg, as part of the center’s vision to be the leader of best practices for education in North Dakota.

“We strive to create real-life experiences for students in rural areas that they would typically only get in our big city schools,” Spellerberg says.

With its mobile meats lab, SRCTC offers meat processing fundamentals, including safety and sanitation, while showing students where their meat comes from.

Working with 14 high schools in southeast North Dakota, SRCTC’s mobile meats lab annually serves approximately 1,900 students with hands-on meat processing and cutting training.

The SRCTC mobile meats lab has a custom-exempt license from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to handle beef, pork and lamb, and it has regular state inspections, just like a meat processing plant.

Additional mobile meats labs have launched since 2020, with five now operating across the state, offering meat processing training to more than 50 schools.

“We’re providing students with fundamental experiences and giving them exposure and training in an important industry that greatly needs trained employees,” Spellerberg says.

Increased Demand in Meat Processing

There are many reasons why meat processing jobs are in high demand in North Dakota. As a result, the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) in the eastern part of the state is seeing an influx of students pursuing their two-year meat processing certificate.

“Right now, there’s greater demand because there are more small-to-mid-size slaughter plants opening that need experienced employees,” says Craig Zimprich, associate professor/chair of agriculture at NDSCS. “There’s a strong generational turnover too, so people are looking to fill those roles, and livestock producers are also looking to market their livestock locally and have more control over their market.”

See more: North Dakota Boasts Generations of Award-Winning Bulls

Meat processing training gives students across the state a strong advantage.

“Meat processing plants that have hired interns from our program, or will hire full-time workers after graduation, are extremely happy to hire trained people,” Zimprich says. “We’re trying to convey to students that there are many opportunities available for them with our nine-month meat processing certificate.”