‘Meatsmith’ Teaches Livestock Harvesting
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Brandon Sheard may have studied Shakespeare in graduate school, but his specialty today is traditional livestock harvesting. He and his wife Lauren raise livestock on their Oklahoma homestead and slaughter, butcher and process the meat for their family and for sale. They also teach others to do the same. For 14 years, Farmstead Meatsmith has provided an in-depth understanding of all things meat, including preparing it in the kitchen. Sheard’s YouTube channel has over 40,000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views. Other social media outlets also highlight Sheard’s work.
“I worked for a multi-species small farm in the Pacific Northwest and had the opportunity to get into the pre-industrial tradition of how animals were harvested, cut up and prepared,” says Sheard. “If you go back to that period, the scale is smaller, more manageable and artful. The home cook was doing it all, from slaughter to end-use. Every part of the carcass was used.”
When Sheard and his wife moved to a homestead in eastern Oklahoma, they started sharing what they had learned. Multi-day, hands-on classes with eight students or less cover the slaughter of two steers, hogs or lambs and end with a meal featuring its meat. Students carry out all aspects of butchering and processing, but it all starts with the kill.
“All livestock react to stress,” says Sheard. “If you deprive that, they aren’t afraid and stay calm. We teach how to prevent stress in the animal at the moment of its death. We show specifically how to do it in a way that works on a small scale without a lot of pens and chutes.”
Sheard recognizes he could have larger classes if he simply demonstrated techniques. However, his goal is for students to be ready to repeat the processes learned at their own farmstead or those of others.
“We have alumni who do custom slaughter in their home areas,” says Sheard. “I warn students that if people in their area learn about the classes, they’ll be demanding their services.”
The Meatsmith program has evolved over time. Today, it includes a members-only community of around 400 people, many of whom have taken in-person classes. Members pay a $29.99 signup fee and a monthly $17.49 fee to access more than 50 online films and a monthly live cast, where they connect and share information.
Nonmembers can get a feel for Sheard and Meatsmith classes by viewing more than 260 free videos online. Subjects include humane harvesting of several meat animal species, processing and cookery. The Farmstead Meatsmith website online store includes a series of short digital downloads on everything from tools, preparing stock and soap to making lard, meat cookery and more.
Sheard does custom slaughter and butchering within about two hours of his home. He also offers phone or video consultations in late spring and early summer.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Farmstead Meatsmith (Community@farmsteadmeatsmith.com; https://farmsteadmeatsmith.com; Instagram: @farmsteadmeatsmith; YouTube: @TheFarmsteadMeatsmith).
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‘Meatsmith’ Teaches Livestock Harvesting LIVESTOCK Beef Brandon Sheard may have studied Shakespeare in graduate school but his specialty today is traditional livestock harvesting He and his wife Lauren raise livestock on their Oklahoma homestead and slaughter butcher and process the meat for their family and for sale They also teach others to do the same For 14 years Farmstead Meatsmith has provided an in-depth understanding of all things meat including preparing it in the kitchen Sheard’s YouTube channel has over 40 000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views Other social media outlets also highlight Sheard’s work “I worked for a multi-species small farm in the Pacific Northwest and had the opportunity to get into the pre-industrial tradition of how animals were harvested cut up and prepared ” says Sheard “If you go back to that period the scale is smaller more manageable and artful The home cook was doing it all from slaughter to end-use Every part of the carcass was used ” When Sheard and his wife moved to a homestead in eastern Oklahoma they started sharing what they had learned Multi-day hands-on classes with eight students or less cover the slaughter of two steers hogs or lambs and end with a meal featuring its meat Students carry out all aspects of butchering and processing but it all starts with the kill “All livestock react to stress ” says Sheard “If you deprive that they aren’t afraid and stay calm We teach how to prevent stress in the animal at the moment of its death We show specifically how to do it in a way that works on a small scale without a lot of pens and chutes ” Sheard recognizes he could have larger classes if he simply demonstrated techniques However his goal is for students to be ready to repeat the processes learned at their own farmstead or those of others “We have alumni who do custom slaughter in their home areas ” says Sheard “I warn students that if people in their area learn about the classes they’ll be demanding their services ” The Meatsmith program has evolved over time Today it includes a members-only community of around 400 people many of whom have taken in-person classes Members pay a $29 99 signup fee and a monthly $17 49 fee to access more than 50 online films and a monthly live cast where they connect and share information Nonmembers can get a feel for Sheard and Meatsmith classes by viewing more than 260 free videos online Subjects include humane harvesting of several meat animal species processing and cookery The Farmstead Meatsmith website online store includes a series of short digital downloads on everything from tools preparing stock and soap to making lard meat cookery and more Sheard does custom slaughter and butchering within about two hours of his home He also offers phone or video consultations in late spring and early summer Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Farmstead Meatsmith Community@farmsteadmeatsmith com; https://farmsteadmeatsmith com; Instagram: @farmsteadmeatsmith; YouTube: @TheFarmsteadMeatsmith
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