Minnesota Meat Minute
Volume 2, Issue 2
February, 2015
Meet Lisa Wetzel –Training and Outreach
Coordinator
Meet Lisa Wetzel
1
Lisa Wetzel is a Training and Outreach Coordinator for the Meat, Poultry, Egg
and Dairy Inspection Programs. She has been with the Minnesota Department
of Agriculture (MDA) since January of 2014.
Value Added Grants
1
Lisa’s responsibilities include:
MAMP Convention
2
Staff Directory
2
NMPAN Webinar
2
Inspection Dates
2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:




Take Note:
 Feb.18 NMPAN Webinar,
Mobile Slaughter Units – A
National Perspective
 HACCP, Feb 19 & 20,
St. Cloud, MN – Contact
Dr. Ryan Cox –
[email protected]
 Midwest Poultry
Convention, Mar. 18 & 19
St. Paul River Center
 E-mail Lisa Wetzel at
[email protected]
to update your contact info
or send newsletter
suggestions.
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 551552538
www.mda.state.mn.us
(651)201-6027
Coordinating outreach efforts with our external partners. Examples include the MDA
booth at the MN State Fair, attending career fairs and conferences.
Developing educational materials for those within MDA and for those external industry
and consumer groups.
Coordinate, develop, conduct and track training of staff in the Meat, Poultry, Egg and
Dairy Inspection Programs.
Manage the updating of the Dairy and Food Inspection Divisions portion of the MDA
website.
Lisa lives on a small hobby farm SE of Faribault where her husband, Mike and three daughters
breed, raise, show and sell registered Shorthorn, Maine Anjou and Simmental beef cattle. In her
spare time she enjoys gardening, canning, and watching her daughters show sheep and beef,
and play basketball and volleyball.
Minnesota Value Added Grant Program
Supports Minnesota agricultural producers and processors to expand markets for Minnesota
products. Grants are intended to:
 Initiate or expand livestock product processing;
 Purchase equipment to initiate, upgrade, or modernize value-added businesses;
 Increase farm food safety (ex. implementing a food safety plan); and
 Increase farmers' processing and aggregating capacity to enter farm-to-institution
and other markets.
Proposals will be available January 12, 2015 to March 6, 2015. Apply on-line.
For instructions on how to register to apply, review this tutorial (PDF: 867 KB / 8 pages).
Request for Proposal (RFP) and Fillable Application (PDF: 455 KB / 12 pages)
** MAC Users: Please complete the form using Adobe Reader. **
Applications that have a meat processing, Farm to School component or are addressing
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) or similar type of food safety plan will receive priority.
Grants will be awarded through the application process for equipment purchases or physical
improvements.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this information is available in alternative forms of communication
upon request by calling 651/201-6000. TTY users can call the Minnesota Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-627-3529. The
MDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
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Minnesota Meat Minute
ST AFF
Nikki Neeser, DVM (651)201-6225
Teresa Chirhart
(651)201-6113
Jennifer Stephes
(651)248-2566
Lisa Wetzel
(651)201-6191
John Mitterholzer
(651)201-6235
Levi Muhl
(651)201-6216
Todd Whalen
(651)201-6679
Jennifer Hedeen
(651)338-7145
Cullan Hewitt
(320)304-4624
Jennifer Hofer
(612)396-4941
Gary Hoffman
(218)849-0184
Justin Jarocki
(651)285-8327
Erik Jopp, DVM
(320)248-9515
Rayon King
(651)285-8495
Carol Konkol
(320)492-4151
Convention March 13-14, 2015
River’s Edge Convention Center, St. Cloud, MN.
Join us & see one of the largest displays of
Meat Processing Equipment/Supplies
In the Midwest!
Contact the MAMP Office for Details
[email protected]
507-263-2976
Mamponline.com
Grace Liebenstein (651)201-6308
Corrie McQuillan
(320)296-1981
Shawn Neumann
(218)296-2035
Wayne Nygard
(320)492-5081
Dave Seipel
(651)285-8321
Andy Siira
(320)295-2066
Roger Sik
(651)285-8503
Eileen Schmidt
(507)469-5951
Getachew Tsehaye (507)412-9021
Lowell Urban
(218)485-5404
Mobile Slaughter Units - A National Perspective
A Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network webinar.
Date: February 18, 2015
Time: 11 am CST
Duration: one hour
To attend: Go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/nichemeat
5-10 minutes before start time and log in as a guest.
All NMPAN webinars are free and open to the public.
Meat Inspectors Calendar – No Inspection Dates
February 16 – President’s Day
May 25 – Memorial Day
th
July 3 – 4 of July Observed
September 7 – Labor Day
September 17 & 18 – Meat Staff Meeting
November 11 – Veteran’s Day
November 26 & 27 – Thanksgiving
December 25 - Christmas
You miss 100% of
the shots you
don’t take.
Wayne Gretzky