An Arcadia meat locker owner has been named as one of 19 members of Iowa’s Artisanal Butchery Task Force. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, will chair the task force and he announced today (Tuesday) that Dan Julin, one of the owners of Arcadia Meats is on that list made up of meat locker owners, livestock producers and professionals from the public and private sector who have a vast knowledge of the industry. The Iowa Legislature passed House File 857 earlier this year for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s establishment of the Butchery Innovation Task Force to study workforce issues in the meat processing industry. They also developed a grant program administered by the Department and the Iowa Economic Development Authority to help lockers purchase equipment to increase production and to create jobs. The Artisanal Butchery Task Force will specifically study the feasibility of establishing an artisanal butchery program at a community college or Regent institution. They will also consider apprenticeship and internship opportunities, employment outlooks for graduates and potential program enrollment and costs. A report will be presented to the Iowa General Assembly by the end of the year. “When I visit meat lockers across Iowa throughout the year, I typically hear about two major challenges they face: difficulty affording upgrades to grow their businesses and a lack of skilled workers that hampers their ability to increase processing capacity,” Naig says. He adds he is proud of the multi-pronged approach the state is taking to help tackle these issues.
