AAMP presents Terry and Jody Kerns with Achievement Award
Terry and Jody Kerns receive AAMP’s 2026 Achievement Award for decades of leadership, service and support of the small meat processing industry.
If there is one award that symbolizes the highest appreciation members of the American Association of Meat Processors can bestow on an individual or individuals, it is the AAMP Annual Achievement Award. The 2026 honorees have always been willing to share their knowledge, and personal time on behalf of the small meat processing industry for many years. The recipients of the 2026 AAMP Achievement Award are Terry and Jody Kerns.
Terry, his brother Jim, children Luke and Katie, nephew Payson, and niece Baili own and operate Edgewood Locker in Edgewood, Iowa. After graduating from high school in 1978, Terry started full time in the family business that his parents Tom and Joan started 12 years earlier. Terry’s brother Jim joined the business full time a year later when he graduated high school. By 1980 both Jim and Terry began buying shares of the business from Tom and Joan.
In the nearly 50 years that Terry has been an owner of the Edgewood Locker, he’s helped guide the gradual but constant transition from a small-town locker into a modern meat processing business that has over 40,000 square feet and over 60 full-time employees. The Edgewood Locker today processes 40 beef a week, 60-80 hogs per week, and delivers processed meat products to over 150 wholesale customers. In addition, Edgewood Locker processed 3,992 deer carcasses last year and brought in over 200,000 pounds of boneless deer trimmings to make into sausage. Terry would never be the one to tell you this himself, but the deer processing operation he helped build is likely the largest of its kind in the United States.
Terry has been a strong advocate for both the Iowa Meat Processors Association and AAMP over the years. He served on the AAMP board of directors for several years. Edgewood Locker has won numerous awards for their cured meat products at both the state and national levels. Terry and his brother Jim received the lifetime achievement award at the Iowa Meat Processors Convention in 2015.
Terry and Jody have been committed to numerous community organizations and causes throughout the years. Two to note are the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Pro Rodeo Days that he guided for years, and an annual UTV charity ride they host every fall.
In 2014 Terry started selling a portion of his shares in the business to his daughter Katie. In 2019 his son Luke joined the business and purchased shares from Terry. Today, Terry is one of six equal partners in the Edgewood Locker. Although he spends a little less time working than he did in the past, it’s a guarantee that he’s going to be heavily involved for years to come during his favorite time of year, deer season.
AAMP is happy to honor Terry and Jody Kerns and is grateful for their leadership, service, generosity, and lasting contributions to the meat processing industry.
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