MEAT People
MEAT People
Podcast Description
MEAT People is the official podcast of SMA (Southwest Meat Association)— a twice-monthly audio and video series designed to connect, celebrate, and inform SMA members and industry stakeholders. Hosted primarily by SMA Member, Neil Dudley with Pederson’s Farms, with rotating co-hosts and guests. MEAT People will showcase stories from across the meat processing and packing industry, highlight SMA’s resources and events, provide updates, and foster networking within this unique and collaborative industry community. The tone will be welcoming, conversational, and informative — like catching up with family at a reunion (except with more brisket).
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on various topics within the meat processing and packing industry, including the importance of community in associations, the evolution of SMA, memorable figures in SMA history, current events affecting the industry, regulatory compliance, and discussions surrounding the SMA convention and networking opportunities. Episodes feature insights from industry leaders and aim to foster collaboration among members.
MEAT People is the official podcast of SMA (Southwest Meat Association)— a twice-monthly audio and video series designed to connect, celebrate, and inform SMA members and industry stakeholders. Hosted primarily by SMA Member, Neil Dudley with Pederson’s Farms, with rotating co-hosts and guests. MEAT People will showcase stories from across the meat processing and packing industry, highlight SMA’s resources and events, provide updates, and foster networking within this unique and collaborative industry community. The tone will be welcoming, conversational, and informative — like catching up with family at a reunion (except with more brisket).
Neil interviews Eddie Behrends, who grew up in Fredericksburg, Texas and now lives on his wife’s fifth-generation ranch in New Mexico while raising three children involved in FFA and showing cattle. Behrends, executive manager of New Mexico’s State Meat and Poultry Inspection, explains the state’s effort to bring back state inspection to support ranchers, build a meat culture, and expand processing avenues; he says state programs must be at least equal to USDA standards, follow nine required components, and the key limitation is not selling across state lines. He recounts a career shaped by meats judging and education, running meat labs at Texas Tech and Colorado State, working at BPI/Empirical Foods, deer processing and sausage production at Hudson Sausage, San Angelo Packing, retail leadership at H-E-B, and returning to Angelo State, emphasizing mentorship, connections through SMA, and giving back.
Visit southwestmeat.org/
Topics
00:46 Ranch Roots and Legacy
02:27 Raising Kids Ranching
04:16 Why the Meat Forum
04:21 Building State Inspection
10:09 USDA vs State Programs
15:05 Career Path in Meat Science
16:03 Pink Slime Explained
18:23 Words Shape Perception
18:35 Facing Uncertainty
20:24 Early Meat Industry Stops
20:43 Deer Processing in Austin
21:35 QA Manager to H-E-B
23:20 Undercover Meat Cutter
24:02 Market Manager Challenges
24:46 Back to Teaching Meat Lab
25:20 Scholarships and Mentorship
28:28 Music and Being Yourself
29:50 Comparison and Encouragement
32:37 Career Opportunities and Faith
34:07 Give Back and Wrap Up
Disclaimer
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