Many small meat processing plants are backed up from anywhere to six months to one year. That’s because the facilities are inundated with people buying locally raised livestock from farmers and ranchers to be butchered. South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal says this was a top discussion point among delegates this past weekend at convention. “One resolution passed by delegates was to support an education workforce development program towards professional certification in meat cutting from post-secondary schools,” said VanderWal. “There has also been a lot of concern within the cattle industry about price gyrations. Another resolution passed is to work with the entire beef industry to find a better voluntary price discovery method.” Other discussions at the SDFB Convention centered around trade and farm labor policy. While some people raised their eyebrows at the in-person gathering, VanderWal says was and can be done. Get a full recap of the SDFB Convention by listening to the interview with VanderWal.