MEAT People

Brittany Moore and Lacey Bates review key meat industry updates, including FSIS’s expanded Listeria environmental sampling in ready-to-eat (RTE) establishments producing post-lethality exposed products. After a pilot in Raleigh, Chicago, and Alameda adding four environmental swabs (two food contact and two non-food contact), FSIS will expand sampling across all nine districts in phases starting Ja...

Neil interviews ABF Packings founders Jason Beyer and D.L. Funderburgh about how the Southwest Meat Association (SMA) helped them start ABF in the mid-1990s, learn processing, find markets, and later survive major setbacks like a plant fire by relying on members to keep products flowing during rebuilding. They describe starting with baby calves, expanding into heavier cattle, building their Dublin...

Brittany Moore and Lacey Bates introduce episode 2 of Meat Industry News, a biweekly 10–15 minute segment of the Meat People podcast, and cover four key updates. FSIS extended temporary overtime and holiday inspection fee reductions for eligible small (30%) and very small (75%) federally inspected meat, poultry, and egg product establishments through September 30, 2027, or until funding runs out;...

Neil talks with Jason Hinds of Marcus Food Company (part of the SMA family) about his experience with the Southwest Meat Association, describing how he first attended a midyear meeting, was initially singled out for coming without family, and now his family looks forward to the annual meeting because of the community and referrals it generates. Hines shares his background in corporate travel manag...

The first installment of Meat Industry News reviews key U.S. policy and market developments. It discusses President Trump’s statement about expanding farmers’ and ranchers’ ability to process their own food, emphasizing that regulatory details and inspection implications are still unknown, and outlines current options (custom-exempt processing, building inspected facilities, or using inspected reg...

Neil interviews Colby DeFriese, plant manager at Smokey Denmark Sausage in Austin, Texas, after his business card was drawn at the convention. DeFriese discusses the space and capacity limits of the early-’70s East Fifth Street facility and plans to relocate to Georgetown in the next couple years. He shares the company’s history (founded by Albert C. “Smokey” Denmark; first building in 1969; this...

Hosts Brittany Moore and Lacy Bates welcome SMA summer intern Meredith Magliolo to the Meat People Podcast to discuss her background, college life, and convention experience. Meredith, a junior agribusiness major at Texas A&M from Schulenburg, Texas, grew up in her family’s meat business, Willie Joe’s Processing, which does custom, deer, and retail processing. She shares lessons on hard work f...

Neil interviews David Englutt about his life, singing, sales career, and long involvement with the Southwest Meat Association (SMA). Englutt describes gaining confidence singing classic country and Western swing (Ray Price, Johnny Bush, Faron Young, Bob Wills) and appearing with the Western Swing Music Society of the Southwest, including a March showcase in Wichita Falls. He outlines his career pa...

Brittany Moore and Lacy Bates kick off a new twice-yearly Meat People podcast recap series by reviewing the 70th SMA Annual Convention and Supplier Showcase at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, with about 532 attendees. They highlight student workers; board updates, and major events such as the Bob Andusek Memorial Golf Tournament (about 110 golfers) that raised $16,860. Friday featured education...

Neil interviews Eddie Behrends, who grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas and now lives on his wife’s fifth-generation ranch in New Mexico while raising three children involved in FFA and showing cattle. Behrends, executive manager of New Mexico’s State Meat and Poultry Inspection, explains the state’s effort to bring back state inspection to support ranchers, build a meat culture, and expand processin...

Neil interviews Brian Sapp about his career and the Fatback Pig Project. Sapp explains Fatback began in 2011 by converting an underused 1996 emu plant in Eva, Alabama into a hog slaughter and fabrication facility, backed by partners including Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q and others, based on a “three-legged stool” of customer, supply, and distribution. Early plans struggled due to small-plant costs and h...

Neil interviews Sara Scott at the MEAT Forum. Sara shares her background growing up on a Central Valley, California cow-calf and stocker operation, studying ag business and marketing at Oklahoma State, and building a career at Certified Angus Beef working with retail and foodservice buyers, packers, and processors—giving her a “gate to plate” view of the supply chain. Now based in southeast Kansas...

The guest is Pat Nicholson, who recounts moving to Mertzon, Texas at age 10 and growing up as a third-generation butcher as his father left corporate grocery to buy a locker plant in 1974, later building Nicholson’s Meat Company into a regional smoked-meats brand that ran for nearly five decades before being sold. The conversation highlights succession planning challenges and respect for fourth- a...

The guest is Deidrea Mabry, COO of the American Meat Science Association (AMSA), about her path from 4-H and FFA to Texas Tech, meat judging, and ultimately joining AMSA remotely after moving to Wyoming. Mabry describes her COO responsibilities, including managing sustaining partner and association relationships (including SMA), budgeting and financial stewardship, and organizing AMSA’s annual Rec...

Recorded at the Southwest Meat Association (SMA) meat judging contest with support from Forum Meat and Columbia Packing, Neil interviews Bo Garcia, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln extension assistant professor who coordinates the meat judging program and is finishing his PhD. Garcia, originally from La Vernia near San Antonio and a Texas A&M graduate, credits SMA scholarships and describes th...

Neil interviews Grace Bryson, a Southwest Meat Association (SMA) scholarship recipient and first-year master’s student in meat science at Oklahoma State under Dr. Gretchen Macy. Grace shares that her first SMA experience was attending the Texas convention, where she felt welcomed and supported by industry members from across the U.S. She explains the scholarship relieved financial stress so she co...

Recorded in Fort Worth during the Cowtown/Southwest meat judging contest, Neil interviews Dr. Mark Miller of Texas Tech about meat judging’s role in recruiting and developing talent for the meat industry and the friendly-but-intense rivalries among top programs. Miller explains how contests expose students to major processors, retailers, and the broader supply chain, creating lifelong bonds and a...

Neil interviews Megan Sorenson, coach of the University of Arizona meat judging team, discussing how the program was started and what it takes to build it. Sorenson, a Texas native who judged for Angelo State in 2023, moved to Arizona for the opportunity to coach and educate students; the University of Arizona, the state’s land-grant school, is celebrating 100 years of meat judging and only formed...

Neil interviews Dr. Loni Lucherk about how the Southwest Meat Association (SMA) supported her and her students through significant scholarship funding, convention experiences, and an industry “family” atmosphere. She describes her path into meat science from Grandview, Texas through 4-H/FFA and meat judging, leading to graduate degrees and a career coaching collegiate teams, and notes West Texas A...

Neil welcomes Dr. Drew Cassens from the Southwest Meat Association (SMA). The conversation dives into the impactful work of SMA, particularly focusing on the scholarships they provide to students in the Animal Science Department at Texas A&M University. Drew shares his academic journey, from undergraduate studies to obtaining a Ph. D., and emphasizes the importance of networking and the valuab...

Jim and Cathey Ondrusek share their extensive history with the Southwestern Meat Association (SMA) and the meat industry. Jim, whose family has been involved in the meat business and with SMA for generations, recounts his family's immigration story and the evolution of their meat market from its early days to now. Jim talks about the work ethic instilled in him by his great-grandfather and grandfa...

Neil hosts a heartfelt conversation with his best friend Cody Lane and Cody's wife Chrissy, delving into their long-standing relationships and shared experiences within the Southwest Meat Association (SMA) and Peterson's. They share personal stories, professional challenges, and the significance of the SMA as a supportive community and family in the meat industry. The discussion includes how they...

Neil speaks with Wade Hudson from the Southwest Meat Association. Wade shares insights into his background, starting with his father's transition from a commercial kitchen rep to a full-time construction business in the 1970s. Wade discusses his path into the family business, which involved hands-on experience in the field before moving into the office, and emphasizes the importance of earning res...

Neil interviews Rodney Roth, CEO of Double R Brand Foods. Roth shares insights into his family's multi-generational business, starting from his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor and butcher, to his current leadership. The discussion covers the origins of the family business, the success and challenges faced, the introduction of innovative products such as sausage slices, and the importance of mark...

The guest is David Cone of Chappell Hill Sausage, who shares the history and evolution of the family business, starting from a custom kill plant in 1968 to becoming a renowned sausage company. David delves into the entrepreneurial spirit of his parents, the transition from a slaughter facility to a sausage company, and the challenges faced along the way. He also emphasizes the importance of commun...