By Chris Aldridge

Kentucky Ag News

FRANKFORT — One of the purposes of the Kentucky Association of Meat Processors (KAMP) is to provide “a voice for small to mid-size processors at state and federal level,” said Executive Director Jennifer Hardin.

Perhaps the finest hour of the fledgling 3-year-old non-profit organization was defending its 80 Kentucky members against stricter federal wastewater discharge regulations proposed in 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“We really stood up for our processors,” Hardin said proudly. “Those could’ve bankrupted over half of the processors in the state.

“The proposed regulations would’ve required meat processors to treat the wastewater on their own with their own mini wastewater treatment plant. You can imagine how much that would’ve cost a small business.”

In September 2025, the EPA decided not to impose additional federal wastewater discharge regulations on meat and poultry processing facilities. 

One of the projects KAMP is working on with the Kentucky Community & Technical College System is developing a meat processing certification course.

“It’s a certification, not a degree,” Hardin said. “Most of the material is available online with hands-on, in-plant training. The goal is to create work-ready individuals for the meat processing industry.”

One of KAMP’s most successful projects is the Kentucky Master Butcher program. The Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF) approved KAMP to receive $472,750 over a two-year period in 2023-24. KADF also provided $95,940 in state funds in 2022 to get KAMP started.

“Most training programs require the staff leave and go off to training,” Hardin said. “But some of our members are so short staffed, they said it would be great if their employees could learn in-house.”

The Master Butcher program brings the class to the processor, minimizing production downtime.

“We give them a list of classes to choose from and develop the course based on their needs,” Hardin said. “We send one of our Master Butchers on-site for the training they want. It can be as little as a few hours or a couple of days. It’s very affordable.”

KAMP members are not all processors. Some are businesses that supply services, equipment, and spices to the processors.

KAMP also hosts a convention each year with a large trade show and educational opportunities. This year’s event was held in April in Bowling Green.

“A lot of good things came out of it for attendees,” Hardin said. “There was a lot of emphasis on how to make money, improve efficiencies, and adding value-added products.

“One of the sessions was about producing pet treats from processors’ scraps,” she added. “There’s a huge market in pet food. People will spend money on their pets, so pet treats are a good product for our processors to offer.”