Meet the Meat Cutting School: UK Teaches Skills to Improve Industry
Meat Cutting School offers fun and impactful hands-on workshops, adding valuable skills to the labor force in Kentucky’s meat-processing industry.
August 21, 2024
Abby Stranathan, left; Jecy Weber, and Gregg Rentfrow cut beef during the Meat Cutting School workshop July 11. [Photo by the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Meat Cutting School.]
by Bailey Vandiver, University of Kentucky
Since 2007, the University of Kentucky (UK) Meat Cutting School has been offering an accessible and affordable overview of meat processing, from live animal to food product.
The school started a bit by accident, says extension meat specialist Gregg Rentfrow, when UK personnel offered meat-cutting training to Kroger employees. As interest and need grew, so did the UK Meat Cutting School.
“First, it was an extension program that was fun for everybody,” Rentfrow says. “Then all of a sudden, it became a need for the industry.”
Previously, those interested could more readily find a meat-cutting school, where they would spend several weeks learning the trade. But the introduction of boxed meats in the 1970s decreased the need for skilled cutters and cutting schools. Finding training became more difficult, and now the meat-cutting labor force is more likely to be unskilled — problems the UK Meat Cutting School is working to solve.
The Meat Cutting School hosts several workshops per year. Each workshop is devoted either to beef or pork and is limited to five or six people, so participants can truly get a hands-on learning experience.
That’s no exaggeration. Participants get the chance to do everything they watch UK’s experts do, including harvesting beef animals. Chris Land, who attended the final beef workshop in July 2024, has hunted and processed deer for years and wanted to expand his knowledge.
“I knew this would be hands-on, but I didn’t know we’d be going through two whole animals ourselves. This is great,” Land says.
Workshops hosted by the Meat Cutting School attract hobbyists and professionals alike. Some, like Brian Jones of Williamsburg, Ky., already work in the meat-processing industry and attend for professional development.
“There are new cuts that I learned here that we do differently than UK,” Jones says, which is exciting information to take back to his employer.
Kyle Wooton operates K&R Farm of Richmond, Ky., including a direct-to-consumer store front that sells beef, pork and lamb.
“Very interesting to learn the different cuts because of the retail space that we have,” Wooton says. “It’s been great, and it helps to learn a little bit more about the anatomy of the livestock, as well.”
Beyond learning from UK experts, Wooton also benefited from meeting with a USDA representative as part of the workshop.
Meat Cutting School programming has become popular with chefs, Rentfrow notes. Abby Stranathan is the head baker at Shaker Village and says she tries to “always be learning.” Attending the workshop equipped her to expand beyond the bakery to help the chef with meat.
“When Chef needs more help, I can reach in,” Stranathan says.
Gregg Rentfrow cuts beef during a training in 2018. [Photo by the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Meat Cutting School.]
Jecy Weber traveled from Columbus, Ohio, to attend the workshop and improve one of her hobbies and passions. As part of a medieval organization that does reenactments from 600-1600 A.D., Weber often participates in boar hunts and processes the meat. The knowledge she gained from the workshop will help her offer a more authentic experience for other reenactors.
“This is not my profession. I am passionate about it and super fascinated,” Weber says. “These are public-facing classes I can come down to and learn from experts, which is awesome.”
Weber and Stranathan are friends and had “a fantastic time” learning together throughout the workshop.
“This is a scale of animal that we wouldn’t get a lot of access to, as neither one of us are working in the meat-processing industry,” Weber says. “This is hard to learn from a book.”
Workshops serve the dual purpose of being both fun and useful — for participants and for workshop leaders Rentfrow and Brock Billingsley, research facility manager in the UK Department of Animal and Food Sciences.
“It’s neat to pass on the information, and it gives us a little bit of time to show off,” Rentfrow says.
Participants left the workshop with a lot of additional knowledge — and maybe a couple steaks they had cut themselves for dinner. Rentfrow has hopes for expanding the Meat Cutting School to be even more beneficial in the future, including hosting more workshops per year and longer, more detailed training opportunities. Future renovation and building projects in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment will expand capacity for the school.
Learn more about the UK Meat Cutting School here. Learn more about the UK Butcher Shop here.
Editor’s note: Bailey Vandiver is marketing/communications and social media coordinator for the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky .
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