BrownfieldAgNews reports:
A new meat science education and training lab is being built at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
“We’re right outside the Trowbridge Livestock Center, it’s in the parking lot. Construction started in December 2024.”
At a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, Bryon Wiegand the director of the animal sciences division with the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources said the lab has been more than a decade in the making and once completed, the lab will process beef, pork, poultry, lamb and goats.
“It’s a turn key industry relevant meat processing plant from beginning to end. That means livestock harvest all the way out to ready-to-eat. I imagine we’re making pork chops, bacon and snack sticks. If you can think about it in the meat industry, we’re making it.”
The State of Missouri funded the $35 million lab, which will be used to educate and train students, industry professionals and state meat inspectors.
“In our division of animal sciences, we’re the technical advising arm for Missouri meat processors. We’ve done that for decades. This gives us a relevant place to help solve those problems for small and very small processors. We also partner with the larger processing industry, whether it’s pork and there’s a new partner coming online with America’s Heartland Packing.”
State Representative Kent Haden tells Brownfield this lab is needed.
“Some of the things being taught here are almost dying arts,” says Haden. “The cutting, processing and everything else that’s part of this lab. It will provide good training for industry.”
The lab is named after former Missouri Governor Mike Parson and will be called the Micheal L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory.
“I’m honored MU has chosen this lab to be dedicated to me and my family,” Parson tells Brownfield.
Wiegand says the lab has an aggressive build timeline with a goal to commission specialty processing equipment in May 2026 and to be approved for USDA inspection in July 2026.
