Showcase Your Butchery Skills during the 2025 Best Butcher Contest

Bedford, PA – The 2025 Best Butcher Contest is slated for Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Penn State Meats Lab located in State College, PA. The contest is being hosted in conjunction with the PA Association of Meat Processors Annual Convention, which attracts butchers, meat cutters, meat processors and industry professionals from across the Northeast region. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there were 139,100 butchers and meat cutters in the United States in 2023, with a projected decline of 2,900 jobs by 2033.

The 2025 Best Butcher Contest hosted by the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, a subcontractor to the Beef Checkoff, in partnership with the PA Pork Producer Council with additional private industry support aims to shine a light on the craft and skill of butchery. These industry professionals play a vital role in the beef supply chain, bringing consistent beef products to both retail and foodservice settings for consumers to enjoy. 

The Contest will include precision cutting of beef and pork subprimals, product yield, as well as a consumer display and sales pitch, providing participating butchers and meat cutters with various opportunities to showcase their skills and knowledge, while competing for the title of 2025 Best Butcher and a $500 cash prize. 

Interested butchers and meat cutters can learn more about the contest and submit their application, here. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2025. Please reach out to Kaitlyn Swope, Director of Marketing with the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative with any questions – 814-623-2698 or [email protected]. 

For more information about beef promotion in the Northeast region, visit www.nebpi.org/. 

Media Contact: Kaitlyn Swope, [email protected]   

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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The Checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national Checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. Internal links within this document are funded and maintained by the Beef Checkoff.  All other outgoing links are to websites maintained by third parties.