OKLAHOMA CITY – State Reps. Ty Burns, R-Pawnee, and Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said a new partnership between the Oklahoma Departments of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and Career and Technology Education should clear a processing backlog for Oklahoma cattle producers.

State ranchers in recent months have faced a backlog in getting their cattle processed, being told they could have up to a year-and-a-half wait. The problem arose after the shutdown of many national processing plants because of the COVID-19 pandemic and because of a lack of local meat inspectors.

Oklahoma Agriculture Secretary and Commissioner Blayne Arthur and CareerTech Director Dr. Marcie Mack announced the potential solution to this problem. The Department of Agriculture will work with CareerTech to offer meat processing and inspection courses to help curb this workforce shortage. This, in turn, will allow for more local processors to produce meat for local ranchers and will allow Oklahoma consumers to buy more local products.

Mack explained that self-paced online courses will be offered in meat safety, evaluation and selection, which will lead to the knowledge needed to pass industry certification exams, preparing Oklahomans for careers in the meat processing industry.