University Center for Economic Development looks to educate local livestock producers on federal and state regulations
UCED NEWS — The University of Nevada, Reno University Center for Economic Development is offering a marketing workshop prior to the Nevada Small Farm Conference designed to assist area meat producers in identifying state and federal regulations and ensure producers are selling within the applicable laws. This is the third meat marketing workshop in a series of five to be held through June 2014.
The pre-conference workshop will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20, at John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave, Sparks. Cost is $45. Seating is limited and registration is required. Online registration is available at http://nevadafarmconference.org.
“Understanding the regulations behind meat and poultry harvest, processing, and handling is essential for Nevada’s livestock producers, and this workshop will provide clarification and methods for limiting liability,” Maggie Cowee, food systems analyst with the University Center for Economic Development, said.
Featured workshop speakers Chris Fuller and David Thain will discuss state and federal regulations, safe product handling and the use of animal quality assurance programs to protect the quality of meat products.
About the featured speakers
Chris Fuller is owner and operator of Fuller Consulting, focused on small processing plant advising, private instruction, and demonstrations. Fuller was instrumental in opening Alleghany Meats, which included hiring, training, branding and establishing the business in Virginia. He will present federal regulations in small processing, as well as offer advice to ensure producers limit their liability and are selling within the law.
David Thain is a retired Nevada state veterinarian and state extension veterinarian for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Thain has several decades of experience working directly with producers to address animal health and regulatory issues specific to Nevada agriculture. His presentation will focus on state regulations for red meat and poultry harvest and processing, animal quality assurance and sales options for USDA-inspected versus custom exempt meat products.
There will also be a 90-minute session during the Nevada Small Farm Conference including a panel of experts and round table discussion of alternatives and solutions to Nevada’s meat harvest and processing bottleneck. Workshop time and speakers to be announced.
The University Center for Economic Development fosters economic development throughout Nevada by making the extensive resources of the University available to organizations and areas that can benefit from job and income creation and job retention efforts. Funding for this project is provided by the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, the Western Center for Risk Management Education at Washington State University and USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2012-49200-20030.
For additional information, contact Maggie Cowee at 775-784-8050 or [email protected].
