NEVC FFA meat smoking effort raises funds

Spencer Hoagland and J.T Kitsmiller, students in the Northeast Vernon County High School's meat sciences class, check the pork loin and cheesy potatoes rotating in the smoker before beginning to remove the food and serve it to about 100 farmers, guests and staff members gathered at Hartzler's Equipment for an informational seminar on Tuesday Dec. 14.

Some experiments flop time after time; like Edison's experiments with the light bulb. The Wizard of Menlo Park experimented with hundreds of different materials and combinations of materials before he came up with the carbonated sewing thread filament that made the incandescent light bulb practical for wide usage. Other experiments are a resounding success the first time; like the Northeast Vernon County FFA's experiment with processing and smoking meats.

This experiment wasn't performed in a laboratory; it took place in the meat sciences class of NEVC teacher Chris Dryer. Dryer is the FFA instructor at the NEVC high school and he said that what the students have now is a full fledged business, started "last year as an experiment and it turned into a business, a fundraiser."

The students began the experiment by studying the anatomy of deer and then cutting them up and cooking them on a smoker. They began with their own deer and it grew to the deer of family members and then, by request, they tried smoking a slab of ribs, and finally it has evolved into a cooking and catering business capable of feeding as many as 300 people at a sitting.

Last year, the 53-member FFA chapter smoked 300 slabs of ribs and has already cooked more than 250 this year.

On Tuesday, Dec. 14, the group was at Hartzler's Equipment in Nevada where they provided lunch to about 100 farmers, guests and staff members attending an informational seminar. The menu included pork loin, brisket, cheesy potatoes, green beans and cheese cake; all of it made by the students.

It is a big job. Chapter president of the NEVC FFA Josh Bachand said he didn't personally do the cooking for this meal, but "we've all got our job." Bachand came into FFA for one year when he was a freshman and has stayed for four years. He said the meat sciences class, which has turned into a business, has given him "leadership skills and preparation for the future."

What began with deer and spare ribs has grown to include beef, pork and lamb; the group also raises their own chickens. Dryer said he wanted to create an activity that the "kids can learn from and profit from, too!"

And profit they do. Dryer couldn't put his finger on an exact number; but he did say that cash flow for the past year has been about $18,000. The program falls under the school's umbrella as a non-profit organization, so that money allows the FFA chapter at NEVC to be "pretty self sufficient," Dryer said. It allows the students to do just about any activity they want to do.

Education is part of the equation in this experiment and Dryer said the students in the meat science class are learning about breeding animals for food.

The students also follow that bred animal through the birthing process and the offspring into being raised and eventually processed as food.

Dryer has applied for and used grants to equip the building with a cooler and to purchase the large smoker that lets the group cook the quantities needed for large events.

The group caters about 10 events a year and also competes. They have taken home second place honors twice and during career development events they also get a chance for some practical application of their class room learning.

Dryer is quick to say that he is proud of his students and what they've done with the project, but also notes that "it wouldn't work without the support of the school board and the administration," he said.