Beef 101

Through input from trade association representatives and others involved in various segments of the meat/food industries, Texas A&M University Meat Science Extension has developed targeted programs for retailers, food service distributors, restaurateurs, the meat industry and association/information representatives designed to transfer technology, or provide educational assistance where needed.

Beef 101 is a three-day intensive hands-on program designed for anyone who has an interest in expanding their knowledge of the total beef industry. This is the leading education program for basic information about the beef industry provided anywhere in the U.S. The workshop, which has been conducted for the past 20 years in the Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science facilities and is currently offered three times yearly.

A maximum of 40 participants per session are accepted in order for maximum hands-on participation and interaction with faculty, staff and graduate student instructors. The Beef 101 workshop begins with evaluation of beef cattle to learn about how cattle are raised, fed and handled. Participants also estimate cattle parameters that will later be measured on beef carcasses. Later, participants learn about the procedures for beef carcass grading and the various premium programs now being applied to many carcasses. The consistently most positive rated activity associated with Beef 101 is conducted on the second day of the workshop. Participants are given a unique opportunity to team up in small numbers with an instructor to cut an entire side of beef into component parts. Beef anatomy, beef cut identification and component part yields and values are discussed at length during and after the day-long laboratory activity.

To round out the beef continuum from beef cattle to beef cuts to the plate, a thorough discussion of beef palatability including sampling various cuts will demonstrate how various cuts, grades and technologies may affect the eating experience of beef consumers.

Participants in former Beef 101 classes include representatives from state beef councils, national or international beef and meat associations, major communication/advertising groups, many food companies (foodservice, retail, distributors, packers), governmental agencies as well as personnel from a number of foreign countries.

For more information on Beef 101, please contact Davey Griffin, Associate Professor and Extension Meat Specialist, or Dan Hale, Professor and Extension Meat Specialist, Texas A&M University (phone: 979-845-3934; fax 979-845-9454). A more detailed program, along with this year's program dates, and a printable registration form can also be found on the Extension Conference Services Registration Site and search for Beef 101. These workshops will fill up fast and registrations are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis.