January 31, 2025

One tough butcher chick.
That’s Twilla Herr’s cellphone tagline, and I’d say that’s applicable. I never knew there were female butchers until I met Twilla — yes, I’m sheltered — but she exhibits a boundless passion for her calling.
“My dad, Hubert Tragesser, and one of my sons, Abraham, and I all have a weird fascination with butchering,” Herr says. “Dad is 86, still farms full time and butchered four of his goats last week. He donates some of what he butchers. Abraham is 25, works on our farm and alternates Tuesdays with me at Vining Slaughter Haus at Roanoke. Butchering is genetic in our family.”
Herr, her husband Bruce and Abraham all graduated from Purdue. Herr was thrilled to discover the animal science program had a butcher shop and worked there during school. After graduation, she pursued a career in meat inspecting. Then, 23 years later, she retired from inspecting, became a full-time farmer with Bruce, and had their daughter Annie.
Missing the challenge of the slaughter floor a few years later, Herr accepted Vining's butchering position on Tuesdays. “We crank out 10 to 13 beef,” she says. “What we kill on Tuesdays takes the rest of the employees all week to finish.”
Herr has unique fascinations, adding: “I love seeing what was on the hoof cut into two pieces nice and clean. I love livestock and going in the pens on kill-day mornings, but I have a fascination with animals undressed. Butchering is truly an art. It’s an art to keep knives sharp, and I’ve worked all my life to keep sharp knives, especially because you don’t want to cut a hole in the hide.”
Herr’s other joy is painting mural backgrounds. So, when will undressed animals be featured on sides of barns?
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