THE HUMANE HAND:

A resource for developing careful and confident livestock handlers in meat plants.

August 2026

We are happy to share that 33 trainees are now certified in “Humane and Effective Cattle Stunning” after they attended both of our training sessions and passed their quizzes at the 2026 AAMP Annual Convention. This was a one-of-a-kind training that we gave at the AAMP Convention in Milwaukee, WI for meat processors from all around the nation.

Training Tip:

Righting Reflex

Same Great Training.

Better Location Across Campus.

We’re excited to welcome you to our new training space. Over the summer, we packed up the model heads, captive bolts, tool carts, along with everything else and moved across campus to our new training space in the Agricultural Science Building. We are looking forward to hosting many training sessions here and can’t wait for you to join us!

Welcome to the Team, Olivia

We are pleased to share that Olivia Barber, UWRF Alumnus, former HHI Program Technician and former Animal Welfare Lab research assistant will be joining us to pursue her Master’s in Agricultural Education (Animal Welfare Emphasis) this fall. Barber’s graduate program will be supported by funding from the Dairy Innovation Hub, and she’ll be working on a series of USDA-funded projects focused on captive bolt placement for Holstein steers, cull Jersey cows and Holstein breeding bulls. We’re excited to have Olivia back as part of the team.

Develop Skilled Employees. Achieve Better Results.

Targeted training can have an immediate impact on your operation. Here’s what industry professionals are saying about our hands-on workshops:

“The training immediately improved our team's confidence and understanding."

"We left with practical skills that we implemented in our facility right away."

"The hands-on approach made complex concepts easy for our employees to understand."

Humane Handing and Stunning

Enhance safety, animal welfare, and operational efficiency with this immersive two-day training featuring hands-on stunning simulations, real-world handling scenarios, and practical insights into animal behavior.

Sept. 17-18

Cost: $1000

Stunning Equipment Maintenance and Testing

Build confidence in your stunning program with this hands-on workshop focused on equipment maintenance, repair and bench testing to ensure reliable, effective performance.

Oct. 8

Cost: $750

These workshops are held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls campus in River Falls, Wisconsin, about 30 minutes east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Find us on the map.

Humane Handling Institute

hhi@uwrf.edu

715-425-4987

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