A-State News
A-State Meat Lab Dedicated after $750,000 in Upgrades
The College of Agriculture meat lab at Arkansas State University has completed upgrades funded by a $750,000 grant from the Arkansas Office of Skills Development, with a dedication ceremony held on 28 October 2026.
What was upgraded
The grant bought new equipment, a new roof and updated refrigeration. New equipment includes a roll stock vacuum packaging machine, a snack stick cutting machine, a vacuum stuffer, a meat grinder and a meat mixer.
“These upgrades were to implement a high-speed snack stick line and train students on updated, state-of-the-art equipment that you would find in a commercial operation.” — Corey Readnour, meat lab director
Training and community service at once
Since fall 2023 the lab has produced snack sticks with Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry for weekend backpack programs now reaching 70 schools in 48 counties. Students run the equipment and learn meat processing and packaging; with the new line, the lab is ready for large-scale production.
For students interested in agriculture and food
At A-State, animal and food science are not only classroom subjects: students work in a lab with industry-grade equipment, tied to a real product — the kind of experience food-industry employers value.
Source: Arkansas State University news release, 27 October 2026 — astate.edu.
