Do you remember last year when meat was difficult to find?
When the lockdowns went into effect, and major meat producers had to scale back production in the fight against COVID-19, many Oklahomans sought out local sources of meat. However, that highlighted a new problem: workforce shortages.
In this episode, we examine Oklahoma's meat shortage and how teamwork from all over the state seeks to train more meat processors to prevent another shortage.
We'll examine how Oklahoma lawmakers responded to the initial meat shortage and began to expand the state's local processing capacity.
We'll look into how CareerTech teamed up with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to train a new workforce in a partnership that paid dividends.
We'll hit the road to check out high schools and tech centers adding meat processing to their curriculum.
Check out the new Mobile Meat Processing Lab - a refrigerated semi-trailer converted into a classroom on wheels.
A new Oklahoma-certified beef standard seeks to help farmers and ranchers market their meat directly to consumers.
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Beyond Your Horizon: Articles, Videos, and Related Stories
CareerTech Horizon Episode 2-1: "Challenges and Opportunities" in Agriculture
Mobile Meat Processing Lab: Behind the Scenes (Facebook Video)
Episode Video Trailer (Facebook) (Twitter)
Classic Horizon Stories
Local Food in Neighborhood Schools (2014) The Farm to School program not only exposed children to locally grown meat and produce, it also gave state farmers a new marketing avenue.
Fighting Hunger... Feeding Hope (2015) The Food For Kids program gets a boost thanks to some young people whose love of livestock goes beyond the show ring.
Made In Oklahoma - In Germany with Chef Kurt (2011) Travel to Europe and there is a fascination with the American West, not just out culture, but our food. One of the reasons a group of Oklahomans traveled to Germany to attend a giant food show and show off Made in Oklahoma products.
