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).
Meat Industry News: FSIS Expands RTE Listeria Sampling, PHIS NR/MOI Updates & Farm Bill 2.0 Status
Brittany Moore and Lacey Bates review key meat industry updates, including FSIS’s expanded Listeria environmental sampling in ready-to-eat (RTE) establishments producing post-lethality exposed products. After a pilot in Raleigh, Chicago, and Alameda adding four environmental swabs (two food contact and two non-food contact), FSIS will expand sampling across all nine districts in phases starting January 2027 to improve early detection of sanitation deficiencies and areas where Listeria can persist; positives may trigger follow-up verification testing or food safety assessments. They also cover recent FSIS PHIS updates affecting noncompliance records (NRs), memos of interview (MOIs), and appeals, including new numbering for records created after September 18 and new functions such as requesting finalized versions after changes. Finally, they discuss Farm Bill 2.0 negotiations as the 2018 Farm Bill extension expires Sept. 30, noting MCOOL for beef as a key House-Senate difference.
Topics
01:07 Listeria Sampling Expansion
02:12 What FSIS Will Test
03:34 Impacts for RTE Plants
04:34 Rollout Timeline Prep
05:47 PHIS Updates Explained
07:10 New NR MOI Numbering
08:15 Farm Bill Deadline
09:36 MCOOL Policy Divide
10:48 What to Watch Next
11:44 Wrap Up and Resources
1 Oct 2026
Jason Beyer and D.L. Funderburgh on Building a Plant, Surviving Cycles, and Why SMA Matters
Neil interviews ABF Packings founders Jason Beyer and D.L. Funderburgh about how the Southwest Meat Association (SMA) helped them start ABF in the mid-1990s, learn processing, find markets, and later survive major setbacks like a plant fire by relying on members to keep products flowing during rebuilding. They describe starting with baby calves, expanding into heavier cattle, building their Dublin facility themselves without formal plans, and lessons learned (especially plumbing/drains) along with the critical importance of water supply (about 260 gallons per cow). They discuss HACCP’s impact and how SMA support and member expertise helped them implement programs and meet evolving “approved supplier” requirements. They address today’s high beef prices as cyclical with tight margins, emphasizing persistence, yield measurement down to thousandths of a percent, continuous improvement, and building a strong team. They highlight SMA’s scholarship auction raising about $150-160k, their “give back” mindset, and ABF’s related kettle-cook business producing soups, sauces, and queso for foodservice.
Visit us at https://southwestmeat.org/
Topics
01:02 Why SMA Matters
01:37 ABF Origins and Mentors
04:15 Building the Dublin Plant
06:19 From Calves to Cows
07:57 Water and Plant Basics
10:06 SMA Support and HACCP
12:16 High Beef Market Cycles
16:32 Scholarships and Giving Back
18:49 Sales and Customer Growth
23:03 Yield and Measurement Culture
27:19 Delegation and Programs
29:49 Family Sacrifices and Diversifying
35:46 Leadership and Trusting Teams
37:49 Final Thoughts and SMA Call
21 Sept 2026
Meat Industry News: FSIS Fee Relief; USDA’s $50M Program; Farm Bill & Mexico Cattle Updates
Brittany Moore and Lacey Bates introduce episode 2 of Meat Industry News, a biweekly 10–15 minute segment of the Meat People podcast, and cover four key updates. FSIS extended temporary overtime and holiday inspection fee reductions for eligible small (30%) and very small (75%) federally inspected meat, poultry, and egg product establishments through September 30, 2027, or until funding runs out; overtime inspection applies to services outside regular hours, with rates near $90/hour and holiday rates about $106/hour, and relief requires submitting FSIS Form 5200-16. USDA announced the Stand Up Program (up to $50 million) to help states establish or expand state meat inspection programs in partnership with FSIS; state programs must meet standards at least equal to federal requirements, but sales are generally limited within the state unless using Cooperative Interstate Shipment. The Senate Ag Committee advanced the Farm Bill 12–11, including language directing USDA and USTR to find a WTO-compliant path to reestablish mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef. Finally, cattle imports from Mexico resumed via Douglas, Arizona on Aug. 24 under a phased reopening after New World screwworm-related closures, with 580–850 head/day moving and heavier cattle (700–900 lbs), while Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico remain closed and future reopening depends on disease risk and progress under the joint action plan.
Visit us at https://southwestmeat.org/
Topics
01:10 FSIS fee relief extended
02:15 How overtime inspection works
03:19 How to apply for relief
04:06 USDA Stand Up program
05:46 State vs federal inspection
07:46 Farm Bill update
08:48 COOL language explained
09:59 Mexico cattle border update
10:59 Port capacity and outlook
12:28 Wrap-up and newsletter
Who has been a guest on MEAT People
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Karrie Menz
Amber Ondrusek
Rick Kimbrel
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100
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Quality
33
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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