major objectives of the meat course for students in agriculture

major objectives of the meat course for students in agriculture

21.
MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THE HEA.f COURSE. FOR S T U D E N T S IN AGRICUL f U R E
J.
1.
UlllER
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY.
CORNELL U N I V E R S I T Y
The preceding speaker, Professor Ziegler, has done a convincing job
i n s t a t i n g t h e functions and importance of neats i n s t r u c t i o n i n the curriculum
of q p i c u l t u r a l studenta, Certainly a a o r objective of t h e meats courses
should be t o f u l f i l l these functions i n t h e b e s t possible manner.
Many colleges o f f e r meats work t o various groups of students other
than a g r i c u l t u r a l students, t h e group which we shall consider i n t h i s dlecussion.
While good i n s t r u c t i o n t o all groups i s important, I feel personally t h a t t h e
g r e a t e s t teaching r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r our n e a t s d i v i s i o n s i n Departments of
Animal Husbandrg i s with t h e undergraduate a g r i c u l t u r a l students, Not only
should the meat courses be planned w e l l f o r such students but courses given i n
o t h e r divisions and departnents of t h e college o r u n i v e r s i t y t h a t give background and support t o meats work should be sought out and they w i l l be an imp o r t a n t part of the s t u d e n t l s t r a i n i n g . I n fact, it i s obvious t h a t no s t u dent can receive the t r a i n i n g he need8 i n j u s t t h e s p e c i f i c meats courses.
The i d e d objective i n the meats courses and supporting courses would
be t o provide i n s t r u c t i o n and o p p o r t w t y f o r t h e student t o obtain information
on any and all phases of t h e meats industry. This would involve everything
from the conversion of feed crops i n t o meat animals t o the end products, such
aa the use of the s p e c i f i c n u t r i e n t s i n meats by the human body and the use of
d l a n W products o t h e r than meats. The f u l f i l l m e n t of t h i s i d e a l would be
d i f f i c u l t indeed and a listing of t h e necessary subject matter needed would be
low. I shall attempt t o point out some of the more obvious phases t h a t should
be covered i n meats courses and you will undoubtedly think of others.
F i r s t of all, t h e meats course should give the a g r i c u l t u r a l student a
broad p i c t u r e of t h e meat industry w i t h i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o animal husbandry o r
l i v e s t o c k farmlng and t o t h e standard of l i v i n g and n u t r i t i o n of o u r people.
The job of scraping and dressing a hog i s not very i r m p i r i w f o r most people.
If it i s s t r e s s e d t h a t t h i s is an e s s e n t i a l s t e p i n t h e conversion of corn to
a pork chop, and that it i s an important job i n one of America's g r e a t e s t ind u s t r i e s with a good workmanship r e s u l t i n g i n b e t t e r eating and more income to
t h e farmer, then t h e job becomes worthy of the s t u d e n t ' s b e s t e f f o r t s . A b r i e f
discussion on the many ramifications of the meats industry, including economics,
procurement, processing, and d i s t r i b u t i o n can c e r t a i n l y be made of i n t e r e s t .
A n i n t e r e s t e d student
will seek f u r t h e r and more complete information.
Meats courses should provide opportunity f o r the student t o acquire
Imowledge and reasonable skill i n slaughtering, cutting, curing and handling
meats. This phase of i n s t r u c t i o n requires laboratory f a c i l i t i e s and usually
means t h a t f d r l y a n a l 1 numbers of students can be accommodated f o r each sect i o n . This type of i n s t r u c t i o n is more d i f f i c u l t t o provide and requires more
staff time than lecture material. However, each student should be allowed
masonable p r a c t i c e under supervision. We have t h e point of view t h a t good
w o r h h i p r a t h e r than speed should be s t r e s s e d believing t h a t speed can come
l a t e r as experience i s gained, whereas i f the emphasis i s on speed any bad.
habits learned a t the start may be d i f f i c u l t t o overcome later.
22.
It should be appreciated t h a t time available i n a beginning course w i l l
not permit a student t o become an e x p e r t i n slaughtering, c u t t i r q , e t c . However, the student should g a i n confidence i n h i s a b i l i t y t o do such work, be able
t o use the equipment and toole e f f i c i e n t l y , and t o know how t o c a r e for them.
The p r i n c i p l e s o r the why of the recommended p r a c t i c e s should be s t r e s s e d and
learned with development of f u r t h e r skill l e f t t o advanced courses o r p r a c t i c a l
experience
.
Students i n t e r e s t e d i n meats should g e t some technical information on
such s u b j e c t s as h e a l t h requirements, q u a l i t y control, s a n i t a t i o n , c h i l l i n g ,
aging, and freezing, as w e l l as the accepted methods and p r a c t i c e s . A meats
course can provide only the fundamentals since obviously t h e i n s t r u c t o r can not
go f a r i n t o such a f i e l d as bacteriology, f o r example. On the o t h e r hand, it
i s d i f f i c u l t t o impress students on the need o f using plenty of hot water and
a scrubbing brush around the meats laboratory without mentioning b a c t e r i a and
t h e i r e f f e c t on n e a t .
It would seem l o g i c a l t h a t meats courses should s t r e s s grades and
grading of carcasses o r c u t s , i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of cuts, and how the c u t s a r e b e s t
cooked. N o t only a r e t h e m f a c t o r s important i n t h e meat industry but the s t u dent can mike good use of t h i s information throughout h i s l i f e . I n numerous
instances t h i s information w i l l have g r e a t e r p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n than the
other material i n the course. I n t h i s connection, it would be e n t i r e l y i n order
t o bring i n tho n u t r i t i v e value of meat and the place of meat i n a good d i e t .
Most people know meat is good t o e a t but many have only a va@;ue idea on how
good meat i s f o r us.
TJherever possible students should be shown the r e l a t i o n e h i p of' feeding, breeding, and management t o t h e grade and qualify of the carcass. I n maQY
instances t h e animals slaughtered will have known h i s t o r i e s and t h e instructor
should have t3is iflormation. Since a good percentage of the students i n the
meats course are s p o c i d i z i n g i n animal huebandv, such i n f o m a t i o n serves as
a bridge between l i v e s t o c k production and the meat f i e l d . Adequate slaughter
and block records w i l l a l s o teach fundamental economics of both production and
meat animal buyi rg
.
The home moat slipply should receive consideration since a high perc e n t w e of a g r i c u l t u r a l studonts r e t u r n t o t h e farm. Also, a high percentage
of the a g r i c u l t u r a l college graduates n o t farming will be working i n close cont a c t with farm people. A sound home meat supply prograsz should be outlined
f o r t h e student with discussion and problems bearing on how the meat may be
produced, processed and preserved., I n t h i s connection we f e e l b e t t e r l i v i n g
should be s t r e s s e d as the major f a c t o r favoring the home meat supply r a t h e r
than economy o r j u s t u t i l i z i n g w h a t may happen t o be available.
I have t r i e d t o s t a t e i n the preceding discussion some of the objoct i v e s t h a t mem d e s i r a b l e f o r meats courses designed for undergraduate students
i n colleges of a g r i c u l t u r e . I have assumed t h a t the majority of such students
w i l l not become d i r e c t l y engaged i n t h e meats f i e l d and t h a t t h i s type o f i n s t r u c t i o n may f i l l t h e i r needs o r a t least be a l l they may f i n d time t o obtain.
However, what can be done f o r those who do wish t o s p e c i a l i z e i n meats and t o
be t r a i n e d f o r work i n the commercial f i e l d , the research and processing f i e l d
o r i n t h e educational f i e l d ? Frankly, I believe here l i e s the most serious
weakness i n the i n s t r u c t i o n a l programs of most colleges, The most l o g i c a l
solution would seem t o be more advanced meats course8 and more emphasis on supporting fundamental courses i n o t h e r d e p a r h e n t s .
23.
Why is t h i s type of i n s t r u c t i o n either not more generally available o r
selected by students? The answer probably i s t h a t r e l a t i v e l y f e w of our s t u dents have desired s p e c i a l i z a t i o n i n meats. There i s a f e e l i n g t h a t t h e job
prospects i n the meats f i e l d a r e e i t h e r limited o r n o t appreciably better as a
result of a degree obtained i n the colleges of qriculture. Also, many farm
raised students feel that the meats industry i s f o r e i g n t o a g r i c u l t u r e and therefore outside t h e i r i n t e r e s t s , An important question i s why does not t h e l a r g e
meats industry a t t r a c t more animal huebandry graduates when t h e much smaller
feed industry takes many more? Do not the meat packers have jobs our graduates
could f i l l t o mutual advantage, or, i s our i n s t r u c t i o n of l i t t l e o r no value t o
either t h e man o r t h e company?
I n t h e case of meats research i n the p r i v a t e o r commercial f i e l d , can
our animal husbandry students with e i t h e r a B.S. o r even a Ph.D. degree meet
t h e requirements and find s u i t a b l e employment? Is such work almost s t r i c t l y
f o r chemists, b a c t e r i o l o g i s t s , engineers, e t c . , o r can we t r a i n animal husbandry
graduates f o r such jobs?
A t Cornell, and I em sure at many o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s , an e f f o y t is
being made t o broaden the i n s t r u c t i o n i n meat0 and t o allow for more s p e c i a l i z a t i o n . I n a d d i t i o n to t h e introductory mats courses f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l students, home economics students and h o t e l administration students, we havo a more
o r l e a s advanced course t h a t may be taken to b u i l d upon these b a s i c oourses.
Students taking t h i s course usually plan t o e n t e r some type of work where addit i o n a l knowledge and ddU. i n handling meat i s needed so t h e course is l a r g e l y
of t h e laboratory and p r a c t i c e type, Then f o r more technical t r a i n i n g a student
can take a course i n P r i n c i p l e s of Food Preservation offered i n t h e Biochemistry
Department. There i s a l s o a r e l a t i v e l y new course on Food Freezing i n which
t h e varlous phases of t h e frozen food industry are discuased by s p e c i a l i s t s i n
each phase.
Another new course e n t i t l e d , "The Food Industry" is being offered.
This is a survey type of course aimed at freshmen i n t h e college of e g r i c u l t u r e .
The maln o b j e c t is t o give the student a view of t h e e n t i r e food industry and
t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n i n aome phase of tho industry. Again t h e
i n s t r u c t i o n i s given by the various people associated w i t h a p a r t i c u l a r phase
of the work, In our own department we plan to o f f e r i n the f u t u r e a couree
dealing s p e c i f i c a l l y w i t h grading and s e l e c t i o n of meats and another of advanced
sominar type f o r upperclassmen and graduate .students.
I n closing, I would l i k e t o suggest something f o r your discussion.
Should I n s t r u c t o r s of introductory meats courses f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l students assume that the students returning t o the farmwill slaughter, process, and preserve mat a t the fam? This has been assumed i n the past a.nd a t Cornell, a t
l e a s t , p r a c t i c a l l y no modern labor-saving equipment has been used i n laboratory
work since such equipment would not be a v a i l a b l e on t h e farm. W i l l locker p l a n t s
and l o c a l slaughter houses e v e n t u d l y take over farm butchering, c u t t i n g and
curing? If so, should our l a b o r a t o r i e s be equipped with t h e equipment commonly
used i n modern slaughter houses? Also, would t h i s s i t u a t i o n moan t h a t less
emphasis should be given t o slaughterirg, c u t t i n g and curing i n the introduct o r y meats course?
FROFESSOR KUNKLE: I d o n ' t mean t o rush t h i s , but now w e ' l l consider
Professor M i l l e r ' s Contribution; "Major ObJectiona of t h e Meat Course f o r
Students i n Agriculture".
Are there questions t h a t you'd l i k e t o d i r e c t t o Professor Miller?
PROFESSOR MIIUF4: I ' d l i k e t o bring up t h a t question again i f I may
as t o what d i r e c t i o n our first course f o r ag. students should be taking. In
o t h e r words, i s t h e r e g o i w t o be as much emphasis on farm butchering, t o equip
thorn w i t h the necessary s k i l l and h o w how t o do it, o r is t h a t goins t o be
minimized i n d i f f e r e n t types of study material presented i n these courses because I ' m assuming p r a c t i c a l l y all i n s t i t u t i o n s o f f e r comparable introductory
meat courses. Should there be changes i n that enrphasie?
PROFESSOR COMFOWT: Well, l a s t night Black and I t a l k e d about that
p a r t i c u l a r thing. I t h i n k as far ae butchering of hogs is concerned, i n M i s s o u r i
t h e r e a r e still going t o be plenty doing that f o r a long time. Some of it
i s n ' t done r i g h t , it can be improved upon, and I hope t h a t our grads g o i w o u t
w i l l t r y t o do a b e t t e r Job than they &re doing a t home.
-
You'll f i n d i n l a t e December up t o February, s o f a r hog butchering
under farm conditions i s very popular. Therefore we w a n t t o hold on t o some
farmmeat processing. Now as far as slaughtering of c a t t l e , I t h i n k that p a r t l y has been taken over already by l o c a l slaughter p l a n t s and frozen food locker
plant8 and others t h a t have b e t t e r equipment, and people d o n ' t feel t h e a b i l i t y
t o do it. They d o n ' t have the i n c l i n a t i o n , and i t ' s the t h i n g that is processed later on i n these locker plants, so I think probably t h a t i s goiw t o be
changed. And lamb i n our state is vory slow anyway, unless we g e t a l i t t l e
stimulation, We have conducted some extension work and aroused ~ o m ei n t e r e s t .
Farm hog killing, I think, w i l l continue under Missouri conditions.
PROFESSOR McCLW
How many locker p l a n t s do you have t h e m , J i m ?
PROFE3SOR COMFORT: We have around 350 locker p l a n t s i n the state a t
t h e present time. There are n o t too many proceeeing plants.
PROFESSOR McCLURG:
That ' 8 what I meant.
PROFESSOR COMFORT: We d o n ' t have too many processing planta owned by
locker plants. Wo do have q u i t e a f e w l o c a l packers.
We have nearly 480 locker p l a n t s i n t h e s t a t e , and w e operily a d V 0 c a t e that whenever any killing is being done a t the farm, i f t h e r e are slaughter
and c h i l l i n g f a c i l i t i e s available, t h a t they u t i l i z e those f a c i l i t i e s i n preference t o doin@ it themselves and we f e e l it necessary t o take that stand i n
that we feel slaughtering is necessary i n t h e class work i n
our c l a s s work
order that the student have a comglete p i c t u r e of what happens t o the animals
they produce.
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PROFESSOR BRADY: I think we'd subscribe t o about t h a t same general
idea. I think the hog slaughtering i s going t o be t h e sane way as greasing a
c a r o r changing the tire. Where w e d o n ' t have this service equipment we a r e
s t i l l going to have a l o t of farm slaughtering but I think t h e trend i s toward
locker stoxage and custom slaughter service.
PROFEWOR BLACK: Larry, i n a d d i t i o n t o what Jimw Ccpmfort said a
while ago, I think that t h i s pxhmJ. trend and growth is c e r t a i n l y go€% t o be
25
very much magnified by the location, and t h e conditions within a state.
Now, 350 locker p l a n t s i n Missouri i s q u i t e a l i t t l e b i t d i f f e r e n t
than l e e s than 15 i n West V i q i n i a . I t ' s considered es a very important f a c t o r
i n t h e home meats supply, and up t o date there h a s n ' t been a very great popul a r i t y from the standpoint of lockers,
Now I expect that they w i l l Increase i n West Virginia but because of
i t s l o c a l i t y and because of its people and,t h e i r nature being on a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t standard of l i v i n g perhaps than same of the o t h e r states that a r e out i n
t h e corn b e l t s e c t i o n f o r extunple. I doubt very s e r i o u s l y i f we could comp l e t e l y s e t t l e the problem concerning t h e needs of a l l the schools, because I
feel that even though we would l i k e t o make as much progress as possible we
s t i l l w a n t t o put out the maximum amount of i n f o m a t i o n which will give t h e
g r e a t e s t b e n e f i t t o t h e people whom we serve.
I f e e l q u i t e sure from the standpoint of West V i r g i n i a ' s laboratory
which is probably about the s i z e of one of Francioni'u shower rooms, t h a t we
can do the job and do it s a t i s f a c t o r i l y f'rom the standpoint of training boys i n
the slaughter of swine under farm conditions.
PROFE!3SOR OLIVIB: I s e e i a t o be kind of o f f - s i d e I guess on a good
many things around here, but o u r a t t i t u d e has been, we want our a n i m a 3 husbandry
students t o h o w w h a t i s underneath t h a t hide, and t o g e t a l i t t l e experience
i n slawhter. They may never do any butchering when they f i n t s h but we j u s t
think that that's p r e t t y good experience for them t o have, t o c r e a t e t h e i r i n t e r e s t , and I t h i n k it w i l l come nearer doing a job of tying up what i s underneath t h e hide irustead of j u s t looking a t the outside a31 t h e time.
That's been my primary motive, We have plenty of locker plants, we
have processing and slaughtering, and plenty of it b u t t h a t ' s our angle,
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PROFESSOR KUNKLJC: I t h i n k we can a l l agree with your t h o w h t . There
no use of breeding and feeding and spending time with these animals i f they
d o n ' t have some u t i l i t y when we f i n a l l y reach t h a t point i n the a n i d ' s l i f e
when i t i s s a c r i f i c e d i n order that we human beings might share i n a more
abundant l i f e .
PROFESSOR KERR: Larry, about t h e people we a r e g e t t i n g i n t o our
c l a s s - when we talk about o u r a n i d husbandry students. I think those of us
t h a t are i n t h e meats f i e l d need t o contact m r e co-ag men, your county agents,
and those a r e t h e fellows that a r e coming i n contact w i t h the farmers t h a t we
f o r some reason d o n ' t reach i n these classes. I d o n ' t know whether 1%comes i n
elementary courses, b u t those fellows are asked t h e questions and they are putt i n g f o r t h the i n f o m a t i o n that they haven't any background f o r a t a l l . Those
are t h e boys I t h i n k we need t o contact i n aome way. They may have to take a
l i t t l e longer t o g e t t h e i r education but we need t o get ahold of them somewhere
i n o r d e r t o give them a proper foundation, basic t r a i n i n g .
PROF'ESSOR KUNEIJZ:
Here's a question:
Does anybody have an answer?
PROFESSOR ZIRXEE2: Yes. The administration
take alJ. the students i n any school on ag h i l l i n Perm
our A . H . - l course, which i s preliminary livestock. We
it but t h e room i s f i l l e d and they are standing i n t h e
has a solution, We w i l l
State, i n what we c a l l
never s a y a thing about
back.
'8
26.
Now i f you would subscribe t o t h i s plan, t h a t it i s j u s t as important
t o have as many men looM2?g under the hides of those animals by taklw a course
i n slaughtering - t h a t would mean t h a t p r o b w t i o n now i s n ' t 75 p e r cent or 90
p e r cent of your animal husbandry curricula, t h a t it i s only 50 per cent o r 60,
and you have g o t t o recognize the f a c t that meats work I s more important every
day, o r should have been given a more prominent place. Therefore, we need more
mney, we need more equipment, but i t ' s not a e s t h e t i c
w e l l , hogs should be
o f f of the campus e n t i r e l y . We have them two miles from our place, and I think
we'd l i k e t o put thorn down i n the sewage disposal plant; when you come and look
a t our hogs p l a n t i t ' s a disgrace, but t h e idea of blood and g u t s j u s t doesn't
f i t i n the p i c t u r e i n som of these i n s t i t u t i o n s .
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I ' m more convinced every day t h a t meats should play an important r o l e
i n the budget of an animal husbandry department, and t h a t goes back t o the
administration.
PROFESSOR SNYDEE?: Can I say a word? I t h i n k t h a t M r . Ziegler should
be asked t o come t o the land g r a n t college moetings and present t h a t program t o
t h e administration group. He's g o t a good story. And while I ' m on my f e e t ,
may I say t h i s : I appreciated what S l e o t e r Bull said, and I more than ever
appreciate tho words "meat laboratory".
Beginning a year ago I think OUT unit has been f i t t i n g i n t o a p i c t u r e
and i t ' s r i g h t d o % with what my f r i e n d Ziegler said, and t h a t i s I d o n ' t aec
how any i n s t i t u t i o n can teach animal husbandry without d o i w a6 he s a y s , and nuw
I t h i n k our meat a c t i v i t i e s . a r e s t r e n g t h o n i q all of our o t h e r course8 very
decidedly
.
For exanple they hsve commenced t o breed sheep out o f seaeon by using
a hormone. Now you have t o wait too long. It may be a l i t t l e more c o s t l y , but
g e t t i n g t h e job done and. then k i l l i n g those sheep
and the boys see it and
follow through. It c r e a t e s i n t e r e s t . I t ' s hard t o r e g i s t e r i t a value. Then
comes this a r t i f i c i a l insemination program. I n our breeding course I'm p o s i t i v e
t h a t it has strengthened that course more than 50 p e r cent by having those animals t o work on that w e l a t e r kill; and s o there a r e applications all along t o
the veterinarian.
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O f course we have a veterinary school, and i n t h e i r inspection I know
t h a t they are producing i n t h e i r meat hygiene class a better course because
those boys must come over t o t h e Laboratory and check t h e viscera.
I say you can not g e t 8 . 1 0 ~without a meat laboratory, and t o the
school6 t h a t a r e i n t e r e s t e d and have had a desire t o go ahead I t h i n k t h i s i s
one of t h e strong s e l l i n g p o i n t s , T h e y ' l l not o n l y improve meat o f f e r i n g s b u t
d l the related expansion t h a t comes w i t h o t h e r good teachings.
PROFESSOR IQMI(LE: Thank you M r . Snyder.
t h i s topic that Mr. M i l l e r discussed?
Anything e l s e concerning
PROFESSOR OLIVER: I have a couple of questions I ' d l i k e t o have your
opinion on, or your experiences, and t h a t is - how many o r what i s the maximum
nwnber of students, o r what would you l i k e t o have i n your sections? We have
been l i m i t i n g our sections and I ' d l i k e t o see how many are l i m i t i n g them t o 15.
PROFESSOR SNYDER:
We l i m i t it t o 16.
When we say 1 6 , we mean it.
27.
men?
PROFESSOR
EcuNKz;E:
Haw many people help when you have a s e c t i o n of 16
One man teaches 16 men.
PROFESSOR SNYDER:
A l l by ourselves.
PROFESSOR OLIVER:
What course are you t a l k i n g about
PROFESSOR SNYDER:
Slaughtering and mat c u t t i n g both.
o r meat c u t t i n g ?
-
slaughtering,
PROFESSOR ANDERSON: I am running t h i s f o r t h e f i r s t time i n two sect i o n s , one man i n t h e c u t t i n g roam. T h a t ' s 15.
PROFESOR BLUMER: W e l i m i t ourselves t o 15 t o a s e c t i o n but I'd
r a t h e r have 10. I think you g e t t h e job done more e f f e c t i v e l y .
I d o n ' t b o w how you fellows handle it b u t we have g o t a c e n t r a l block
where we go through c u t t i n g s t e p by step. The second time over they am expected t o go ahead as much as possible themselves, but it keeps you jumping
around q u i t e a b i t because a f t e r j u s t one t i m e i n t h i s c u t t i n g i t ' s p r e t t y hard
t o remember.
PROFESSOR PIERCE: I have a question. I n a s e c t i o n of 1 6 boys, and
on a q u a r t e r l y basis where you have 11 weeks i n your quarter, what would you
adviae as the most p r a c t i c a l number of carcaeses t o work on for each s e c t i o n of
that s i z e ? How many beef carcasses, how many pork carcasses, o r how many lamb
carca8ses would you slawhter and c u t up sa+y i n an eleven week q u a r t e r i n a
s e c t i o n of 1 6 boys?
PROFESSOR OLIVER: A t Oregon I have been l i m i t i n g our sections t o t e n
men, and we k i l l a hog f o r every person i n t h e c l a s s , and we klll a lamb for
every person i n t h e c l a s s , and then w e ' l l k i l l s e v e r a l beefs. I l i k e t o take
t h e students and show them and then next t i m e if they have been c u t t i n g on a
f o r e quarter, s h i f t them t o a hind q u a r t e r and take some fellow who has been
working, on fore quarter previously and have h i m tell t h e next group how t o c u t
that f o r e quarter, If i t i s n ' t q u i t e according t o Hoyle, I put him r i g h t .
The sane i s t r u e when it coaes t o doing e o m operation on slaughtering. One student has to show another one and they g a i n experience teaching
each other.
PROFESSOR lclMIcLE: Is t h e r e anything e l s o t h a t we ought t o pry i n t o
on this queetion of the major objectives of the meat course for students i n
agriculture?
PROFESSOR BRATzz;ER: I have one question. I t ' s a l i t t l e o f f the subj e c t , but i n home economice teaching I ' d l i k e t o soe a vote of hands of those
having the g i r l s do actus3 c u t t i r g . I do not require it. The girls never
handle a knife. J u s t t h e hands of those where the g i r l a do t h e cutting.
. . 1 2 hands were raised . . ,
PROFESSOR BRATZLIB:
And those t h a t do not?
. . . 4 hands were raised. . . .
28
PROFESSOR KUNKLE: It Lgeems to me I would be remiss not t o make t h i s
one observation that Tom raised a while ago about t h i s blood and thunder obj e c t i o n t o meat course experience.
Maybe we need t o revive the o r i g i n a l prenlse on which the National
Ltve Stock and Meat Board won i t s fame going across the country with these
tuxedo demonstrations. I haw that the mock duck and the tuxedo have s o r t of
been shelved of late, but a r e n ' t w e being unnecessarily squeamish t o t h i n k t h a t
people are shying away frommaats cour8eg because t h e r e i s something wrong with
i t ? I think a near simile would be t h i s idea that w e mustn't a s s o c i a t e w i t h t h e
colored folks, and y e t we w a n t them t o make our beds and serve our food, and I
think we are s o r t of being hypocritical about it. We are i n t h i s thing and
there are l o t s worse thing8 to do than c u t meat. Maybe we can glamorize it
some way and c a l l it meat cutting, not butchering.
PROFESSOR FRANCIONI: You f o l k s aeem t o be worred about the vocational
a g r i c u l t u r e school. A meat course i s required i n our vocational a g r i c u l t u r e
school. T h a t l o a must.
PROFESSOR KuNllLE:
The same t h i n g i n Nebraska and Colorado.
PROFESSOR WANDERSTOCK: We have run i n t o t h e s i t u a t i o n where we have
so many applicants and such limited f a c i l i t i e s t h a t we have t o l i m i t it t o
seniors first, because we always have at least double the number who can take
it enrolling, so we have t o pick them from the f o l k s who won't g e t another
chance. I t h i n k u n t i l we convince the powers t h a t be that we need more expanded f a c i l i t i e s , w e ' l l have t o go on t h a t basis.
The dean of t h e Hotel School requires that every h o t e l man take a
h o t e l course i n meats, and they reach the point where they have 80 many h o t e l
students that we can never g e t any m r e t o take the course i n meats. The ag.
boy8 a r e all asking to take t h e course, and we can never f i t d l o f them i n ,
so we have t o , as a matter of policy, take those who won't get another opport u n i t y first.
a l l fixed,
PROFESSOR ~ACIIINTOSH: When you g e t t h a t new laboratory, you w i l l be
PROFESSOR BRADY: I n these land p a n t colleges, i s n ' t that one of the
most popular courses i n a g r i c u l t u r e ? All we need is more f a c i l i t i e s so we can
handle a l l who w a n t to take it. I d o n ' t think there are very many land g r a n t
colleges where i t i s n ' t one of the moet popular courses i n the whole curriculum.
We d o n ' t have to sell it; we j u s t need more f a c i l i t i e s t o take care of it,
i s n ' t that it?
PROFESSOR SNYDER: That's r i g h t .
€%OFFSSOR ZIBXER: I t h i n k i t ' s t h e backbone of the Ag. and animal
husbandry courses. \henever t h e r e i s somethin@;to be done, t o e n t e r t a i n
v i e i t o r s o r put something icmss w i t h groups, i t ' s the meat department t h a t
can do it, or a t l e a s t it i s the one t h a t is asked t o do it.
CHAIRMMV TOMHAVX:
Before we adjourn we have another topic on the
Mr. Tupper, who has the display of meate equipment, would l i k e t o
program.
say a few words to you about t h a t display.
29
MR. POUOCK: I j u s t w a n t t o s a y one word about Mr. Tupper. He i s t h e
C h i c q o representative o f the Russell-Earrington Cutlery Company which i s l o cated a t Southbridge, k s s a c h u e e t t s .
Our merchandising department uses t h e i r t o o l s exclusively, and a l s o
our home s e r v i c e department, and our home economics department. The RussellHarrington Company i s a grand organization. I understand a l o t of you gentlemen a r e buying t o o l s from them now. We recommend them highly. They p u t out
good equipment, axe r e l i a b l e and a f i n e company t o d e a l w i t h . We thought it
would be a good thing i f we could have M r . Tupper here today. We asked him t o
come over here and bring over a s e t of t h e i r t o o l s , packing-house equipment
t o o l s and so f o r t h , and have them on display f o r you.
I a l s o prevailed on h i m t o come over and say a word.
(IEOROf 0. T U P P E R ,
5'754 N . K E N M O R E AVE,, CHICAGO 4 0 , ILLINOIS
REPRESEWTINO RUSSELL HARRINGTON
CUTLERY C O U P A N Y , S O U T H B R I D G E p M A S S *
Mr.. Pollock,
M r . Tomhave, Gentlemen: On behalf of my company, I wish t o say t h a t it i s a
pleasure t o co-operate with t h e National Live Stock and Meat Board,
Our r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h the Board i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e Amerlaan Meat
I n s t i t u t e and the Meat Industry i n general have always been most pleasant and.
of long duration,
We a r e displaying here f o r your meetings, a display panel of D M T W
Packing House c u t l e r y , a dieplay panel of RUSSEL Packing House c u t l e r y , DEXTER
Carving Set6 and DMTER Home Kitchen Cutlery Sets. I n t h i s connection, 1 would
l i k e t o p o i n t out t h a t a l l DMTER carving t o o l s and all DElcTER and RUSSELL Home
IUtchen Cutlery come out of the same plant and are made by t h e same s k i l l e d
craftsmen who produce t h e f i n e p a c l d q house h i v e s used s o generally over the
nation.
History records the f a c t that a Mr, Henry Harrington s t a r t e d product i o n w i t h several p a t t e r n of knives i n t h e year 1818 and located i n the t o w n
of Southbridge, Mass, This company was then known as the Harrington Cutlery
Co. and produced a f i n e l i n e of c u t l e r y under the trade name o f DEXTER. About
t e n years l a t e r , a M r . John Russell followed Harrington's example and h i s
c u t l e r y w a s known as the RUSSELL Green River Brand. I n l a t e r years, these two
f i n e American c u t l e r y companies combined are doing business today under the
nams of RUSSELL HARRINGTON CUTLERY COS The brand names of DMTER and RUSSELL
have become j u s t l y famous wherever good c u t l e r y i s s o l d o r used.
For 130 years without i n t e r r u p t i o n , i n good years and bad, through
wars and i n peacetime, t h i s company has been making t h e best In cutlery. W e
s p e c i a l i z e only i n c u t l e r y manufacturing and keep c l e a r of diverting o t h e r
products t h a t do not concern o r i n t e r e s t good knife u s e r s , We a c t u a l l y think
and make c u t l e r y 24 hours of t h e day, The i n t e r e s t of our company ha6 € d W q s
been t o keep pace with the changes and trends i n knife usage. Out of about
4000 d i f f e r e n t p a t t e r n s of knives, made f o r various c l a e s i f i c a t i o n s of trade
and industry, we g i v e first and f o r e m s t consideration t o making c o r r e c t knives
f o r t h e meat packing industry.
.
30.
For generations, DEXTER and RUSSEU; knives have been preferred and
used by meat c u t t i n g experts i n packing p l a n t s and meat markets. We are, a t all
times, ready t o co-operate with t h e industry i n developing and producing new
patterms of knives f o r which thore i s a need and universal usage, Contained i n
the display panels here are knives t h a t a r e highly specialized for s p e c i f i c
meat c u t t i n g operations. You w i l l f i n d catalog sections i n your f o l d e r s describ
ing each knife.
A good knife must o r i g i n a t e from a good s t e e l formula. Over the years
our company, has through research and by experience, perfected formulas which
a r e d i r e c t l y applicable t o knife blades t h a t are designed f o r s p e c i f i c c u t t i n g
operations. For exaglple, we do not use t h e same s t e e l formula f o r knife blades
used f o r meat c u t t i n g t h a t we use f o r putty knives, linoleum knives, shoe
knives, etc. Our volume of business on eaoh c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of knives i s suff i c i e n t t o standardize on the formula f o r s t e e l b e s t s u i t e d f o r such knives. We
do not use the general m i l l run of s t e e l f o r a l l knives, and we own and control
t h e formulas f o r s t e e l t h a t go i n t o DEXTER and RusSaL Knife blades.
I n following the factory procedure of a s i n g l e knife through our p l a n t ,
it i s amazing to f i n d the many, many operations required to bring t h i s b i f e
i n t o f i n i s h e d stock. A g r e a t number of these operations a r e hand operations
which includes the hand honing of each knife. This procedure does not lend its e l f t o fast ma88 production but i t doe8 insure a f i n i s h e d product which is
wholly s a t i s f a c t o r y t o knife users.
That is about all I can cover i n the time a l l o t t e d t o me on t h i s program. I wish t o s a y , however, that I will be here today and tomorrow and W i l l
be g l a d .t;o give you any f u r t h e r information t h a t you m a y d e s i r e .
attention.
Tplnank you.
I n conclusion, may I express my appreciation f o r your i n t e r e s t and
It has been a pleasure for me t o be here a t t h i s f i n e meeting.
CHAIRMAU TOMHAVE:
Thank you very much.
We w i l l now adjourn f o r lunch.
aa possible.
..
T r y t o be back as near 1:OO o'clock
The meeting adjourned a t 12:OO o'clock noon
...