Have we mentioned that MFPE members do work that matters? MFPE member Tom Andres is highlighted in a very Montana story below. Here is the short version:
“Over 300 high school students take classes at the Missoula County Public Schools’ Agriculture Education Center. There’s a working farm with cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens. Kids learn how to raise, slaughter, process and sell meat to the community.”“They sell hot dogs and hamburger meat to the district for the school lunch program and they’re even building a mobile concession stand.”“the entire enterprise, called School House Meats, is financially self-sufficient.”
Read the entire article below. MFPE members in every Montana community make Big Sky Country a great place to live, work, and play. MFPE is Montana.
3 Montana school districts go virtual or close due to COVID
Associated Press
Value-added products like pulled-pork sandwiches can add over $1,000 to the value of a hog, according to Tom Andres, the agriculture education teacher at Missoula County Public Schools.
Especially if students process the animal in-house, the financial returns are much greater than just selling the animal as cuts of meat.
So when a tractor breaks and they need a $25,000 part, that money comes in handy because the entire enterprise, called School House Meats, is financially self-sufficient.