Fall 2008

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Meat and Greet: Partnerships Link to Quality Programs

At the Wurstfest held in conjunction with the July 2008 program, Joe Cordray, right, presents an appreciation plaque to speaker Klaus Kreibig, from Hamburg, Germany.

Joseph Cordray knows the value of good relationships. The partnerships he has made as an Iowa State University professor of animal science and extension meat specialist have been key to making the ISU Meat Science Extension Program internationally recognized.

Cordray ('71 animal science) began building relationships in the meat industry even before he stepped foot on campus. In 1967, when he was headed to college, Cordray realized he would need a job in Ames. As a senior in high school, he was cutting meat at a local grocery store in his hometown of Charles City, Iowa. His boss helped Cordray make a call to Robert Rust, who was the ISU Extension meat specialist. Rust helped Cordray get a job as a student employee at the Meats Laboratory.

After completing his advanced degrees at Auburn University, he worked as research director for A.C. Legg Inc., a major seasonings company, for several years. During that time, he would occasionally return to ISU to help teach one of the processed meat short courses. When Rust retired in 1995, Cordray was hired on as extension meat specialist.

Since then, Cordray has given more than 100 invited presentations to meat processor groups or organizations and authored more than 250 meat industry trade magazine articles. He writes "Cordray's Corner" for the magazine Independent Provisioner. In the past 13 years, he has coordinated more than 250 programs for meat processors and helped secure several grants to support these activities.

"The meat processors of Iowa are able to carry on their businesses and comply with ever-changing government regulations largely through the educational programs held by ISU Extension meat science," says Marcia Richmann, executive director of the Iowa Meat Processors Association. "Joe Cordray serves on our board of directors and we are indeed very fortunate to be able to benefit from his expertise."

ISU has one of the most extensive programs in the nation for helping meat industry personnel comply with new food safety regulations and learn about the latest technology and meat science information. In 2004, in the only ranking ever done on meat science extension programs, Meat and Poultry Magazine ranked Iowa State's program number one in the nation.

Often state-of-the-art equipment is shipped to the Meats Laboratory for use in a specific program. Each year, more than 400 attendees representing 35 different states and several different countries participate in an extension meat science short course or workshop. "Our industry partnerships allow us to show cutting-edge technology and provide the very latest information to our attendees," says Cordray.

One of their best known courses, the annual Sausage and Processed Meat Short Course, celebrated its 30th year in July. The program attracts about 75 participants from around the world. The school's Basic Sausage Short Course and other similar courses focus on the technology of sausage production, including demonstrations and instructions about ingredient use, basic meat science, food safety, emulsions, casings, thermal processing and more.

Since the inception of ISU's processed meat short courses in 1979, more than 10,000 participants have attended one of these programs.