PENDLETON — Blue Mountain Community College is starting a master butcher certificate program to help people begin or advance their careers in the meat processing industry.

BMCC announced the program Wednesday, Jan. 8, in a press release. The college developed the program in collaboration with industry experts, Oregon State University and the Northwest Meat Processors Association. It will offer classroom and hands-on training over up to three terms. The first course of the program starts in March and will last 12 weeks. Students can stack subsequent levels on top of the initial certification.

The master butcher certificate program will offer three consecutive levels of instruction in humane animal slaughter, carcass dressing, muscle identification and the quality butchery of key livestock species.

Jordan Monaco, BMCC director of college relations, said a multiyear grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture funds the program, which will “address workforce shortages in the meat industry.”

The program is meant to be “affordable and accessible,” Monaco said, and consists of three noncredit certificates. People in the course don’t even need to enroll at the college or meet prerequisites beyond having a high school diploma or equivalent, be at least 18 years old, work or want to work in the meat industry, and have experience with livestock.

Program overview

The program is limited to 15 students, with two spots reserved specifically for members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The total registration fee is $1,500 and does not include any travel costs associated with the four in-person workshops.

Applications are due Feb. 10. BMCC will offer a limited number of scholarships that are available to all applicants and range from $500 to $1,000.

The master butcher certificate program consists of three levels, starting with basic butchery. To accommodate working professionals and those living outside of Pendleton, the college will offer the program in a hybrid format, with online courses alongside four required in-person workshops on weekends at the main BMCC campus in Pendleton. Students who meet course requirements by the end will earn a Level 1 certificate.

“Level 1 in basic butchery will be the first certificate offered and further levels will be offered in subsequent years for those that seek more managerial and owner-level positions in the meat industry,” Monaco said. “To our knowledge, there are no other butchery training programs being offered in the Pacific Northwest.”

The college will offer levels 2 and 3, focusing on food safety and quality and meat entrepreneurship and management, during the 2025-26 school year.