Butcher school

Just outside of New Plymouth, Idaho, Chase Shoemaker ranches a small herd of buffalo, or bison as they’re properly known. But…he doesn’t just raise bison.

“I teach high school at New Plymouth, animal science, plant science, welding and FFA advisor here in town. So, I have a day job and a night job. I do it all,” said Shoemaker.

On the other side of his professional life, Shoemaker has to have meat processing facilities to take care of the bison he raises. But there aren’t that many facilities that can help him, in part, because the trade of butchering isn’t one that droves of people are drawn to as a career. But Shoemaker thinks there would be interest from students if it was presented as a viable option to them.

“I think there would be, I really do. I do talk meat science down there for a unit and I bring in meat cuts, we do meat ID, meat quality.

If I had my option, if I had the money, I could put a cooler in that facility and put a cut room in. And then bring in quarters or halves or whatever and break them apart.

Some sort of training program, either at the high school level or a cooperative with a junior college, or even a tech school. I mean there’s meat science at universities, but that is a meat science, another spectrum of what we’re trying to do,” said Shoemaker.

“The guys that are going to get those degrees are going into meat sciences fields, they’re going into plant management and operations. They’re not coming down to here to do the vocational side of it,” said Tolbert.