Perkins Professional Development: Gate to Plate (Participant Support Costs)

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Gate to Plate Perkins CF Funds Abstract Kentucky is currently the largest beef cattle producer East of the Mississippi River. We rank 8th in the nation in beef cattle inventory with about 1,033,000 head of beef cattle. The average cattle herd for the 33, 823 producers across the state is approximately 31 head of cattle. In 2022, gross receipts from the production of cattle totaled $1.1 billion (KY Livestock Coalition, 2023). Being one of the largest producers in the nation, it only makes sense for KY to have a clear pathway utilizing food science, culinary arts, and career pathways to certification for the food industry. The Professional Development Project will assist educators in developing a strong network of knowledge, resources, and networks for their secondary students with the post- secondary workforce, 2-year, and 4-year colleges and universities centered around the fifth largest commodity in the state. This will ensure we have a well-trained workforce for the food systems industry in the future. Career and Technical education is a major pipeline to having a well-educated, career-ready workforce for the 21st century. Student in secondary and post-secondary CTE programs deserve to have the best possible instructors who have been trained in the most up to date, technologically advanced, and research proven strategies. This will in turn prove to be an economic provider for our state. Having a well-trained work force in both content knowledge and soft skills such as time management, leadership development, record keeping, and basic skills will keep more jobs and industry in Kentucky while being a great way to recruit new industries to the commonwealth. The Meats Industry is one of the largest industries in our nation. As we were shown by the Covid 19 pandemic, the industry was one of the hardest hit when trained workers were not available thus interrupting the entire food system. The UK Meats Lab, The UK Agricultural Education Program, and the KY Beef Council would like to train Agricultural Educators from across Kentucky how to better train and certify their secondary students who are directly entering the workforce. The participants in the professional development will have the opportunity for a full demonstration and hands-on opportunities with a cow-calf operation which is most prominent in KY. Participants will also participate in harvesting animals taking them from the pasture (Gate) to the processing facility and participating in meats processing (Plate). Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in lectures and demonstrations on food handling safety, creating their own dry rub for cooking, and learning more about the HS BBQ Association through cooking challenges.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date7/1/236/30/24

Funding

  • KY Department of Education

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