Once it was just the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta this time of year, but with the addition of the feed expo a few years ago and the meat expo last year, it is now a much more breed inclusive show and pork was center of the plate in the Pig Pavilion.

I had the chance to watch North American Meat Association (NAMA) standards and specifications adviser Steve Olson give a primer on specialty and primal pork cuts at the International Production and Processing Expo this week. As a former livestock and meat marketing specialist with USDA, this guy really knows his stuff and loves what he does. With NAMA, he travels around the country doing Center of the Plate Training® (COP) sessions to teach food industry people the best and most profitable use of each beef, pork, lamb, veal and poultry cut. The next one will be at Texas A&M, June 3-5, 2014. You can also see some of Steve’s Meat Buyers Guide training demos on-line.

Listen to my interview with Steve here and watch a bit of his demo at IPPE below: Steve Olson, North American Meat Association

International Production and Processing Expo Photos