Meat Cutting

Meat cutters are critical team members in the process that moves agricultural animal assets to satisfied consumers’ tables. Who’s hungry?

As a leader in agricultural education, we’re excited to now offer a Meat Cutting Certificate and beginning Spring Semester 2024 a newly expanded Advanced Meat Processing Certificate and are now accepting applications. You must be at least 18 years of age to enroll in this program. Lifting is required.

Program Delivery – Hybrid

• Online coursework – No set meeting time; students attend lectures and access class materials according to their schedules
• Local, in-person labs – 16 hours of weekly lab time at a certified meat shop near you
• Fall and spring semester starts, with the ability to start anytime during the academic year
• Classes run in four-week blocks

Degrees & Awards

Beginning Meat Cutting Certificate Advanced Meat Processing Certificate

Skills you will learn

• Meat cutting equipment use and procedures
• Food safety
• Direct farm marketing
• Livestock and poultry slaughtering and processing

Students will also choose one of two electives: wild game animal processing or introductory animal science.

Career Info

Retirements of small-town butchers and growing shortages of meat processing workers due to the pandemic have elevated the need for training more meat cutters.

Meat cutters can earn between $16.00-$27.75 per hour. The demand is expected to grow at a rate of 2.4% for the next 10 years.

Ridgewater Meat Cutting graduates will enter the workforce as entry-level meat cutters, working in production facilities or butcher shops. With experience, graduates can advance or pursue additional training for more advanced processing or entrepreneurial challenges. Other potential careers include butcher, meat merchant, carver, and meat processor.

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