U of I Dedicates New Meat Science Lab

By John O’Connell

More than 300 supporters gathered April 10 to help dedicate a new University of Idaho meat science laboratory with ample space and modern technology to better serve the state’s rapidly growing beef industry.  

The 12,750-square-foot Meat Science and Innovation Center Honoring Ron Richard includes a Vandal Brand Meats storefront, a fabrication room, a further-processing room, two pass-through smokehouses, a product packaging area, a large classroom with audio-visual technology and an integrated test kitchen, among other amenities.    

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) was a major financial backer of the project. IFBF’s board of directors voted to donate $250,000 toward it.

“I think what got our board excited was the vision of what this facility and program would mean for the greater state of Idaho, specifically our livestock producers,” said Zak Miller, IFBF chief executive officer. “As U of I’s meat science program graduates these high-quality students, they will go back into rural Idaho and this will actually serve our producers on the ground.”

IFBF President Matt Dorsey, a Canyon County farmer, noted several new meat processing facilities have opened throughout the state in recent years, and he said the new laboratory will fill a great need.

“It’s amazing, it’s state of the art, it’s got all the bells and whistles, and it’s streamlined having separate areas for harvesting and processing. It’s going to be excellent,” Dorsey said.

The new building replaces a 5,000-square-foot, 1960s-era facility where space was too limited to conduct multiple tasks simultaneously, which forced the meat sciences team to constantly shuffle heavy equipment between rooms. 

“The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) is celebrating our 125th year this year — 125 years of leading, innovating, exploring and providing practical research-based information to our communities,” said Leslie Edgar, J.R. Simplot endowed dean of CALS. “Facilities like this position us to continue our land-grant mission, both now and into the future.”