U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $9.6 million across the country and taking several other steps to help farmers, ranchers, processors and rural businesses diversify the nation’s meat supply.

“USDA is putting the needs of farmers, ranchers and consumers at the forefront of the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to strengthen the resiliency of America’s food supply chain while promoting competition,” Vilsack said. “USDA has undertaken a [department-wide] approach to coordinate ways to deliver more opportunities and fairer prices for producers, to give people access to healthier foods, eliminate bottlenecks in the food supply chain and ultimately lower prices for consumers.”

Secretary Vilsack announced 25 new investments to increase independent meat processing capacity.

The department is awarding 23 Value Added Producer Grant program grants, totaling $3.9 million, to help producer-owned companies process and market new products. USDA is also providing guarantees for a total of $5.7 million in loans to two companies through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program using American Rescue Plan funding. This program supports new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling and distribution.

Through these two programs, USDA is investing in 25 projects in California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Below are some examples of how the funding will be used.

• Bottomland Prime LLC will use a $4.95 million Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan to acquire and expand Edes Custom Meats (“Edes”). Edes is a cattle meat processing and retail outlet in Amarillo, Texas. Bottomland Prime projects its business will include custom USDA-inspected processing for local producers and specialty markets, as well as local retail sales of beef cuts, sausage, jerky, pork and lamb. In addition, it will include wholesale markets through different convenience stores and cold storage services.
• In Kents Store, Virginia, Gillispie’s County Line Farm LLC is receiving a $44,000 Value Added Producer Grant to support the processing of pasture-raised chickens, beef cattle and hogs into individually cut and processed poultry, beef and pork products. The farm will sell the meat directly to retail consumers online and through farm sales. Gillispie’s also plans to hire new employees to assist with processing and sales labor, and expand its marketing activities to reach a larger customer base.
• Todd Family Meats in Big Timber, Montana, is receiving a $48,173 Value Added Producer Grant to increase its production of packaged beef and lamb to meet growing demand. The family-owned company also will use the funds for marketing, packaging and processing.

Secretary Vilsack also highlighted some of USDA’s accomplishments to date to support meat producers, promote competition and strengthen local and regional food supply chains. Last January, Secretary Vilsack joined President Biden at the White House to launch the Biden-Harris Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain — part of USDA’s efforts to implement President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.

He noted that under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has provided $54.6 million to 278 businesses and individuals through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG) for strengthening and developing new market opportunities for U.S. meat and poultry processors.

To further these efforts, AMS also invested up to $25 million to establish the Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA). This program consists of a nationwide network to ensure that participants in USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives have access to a full range of technical assistance to support their project development and success.

Facility improvements and expansions funded through MPIRG will help processors obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection or qualify for a state’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. Achieving a Federal Grant of Inspection or operating under a Cooperative Interstate Shipment program allows meat and poultry processors to ship products across state lines, develop new markets, increase capacity and better meet consumer and producer demand along the supply chain. USDA also invested in efforts to strengthen its local and regional food supply chain with the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). LFPP grants support local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer-to-consumer marketing. Projects that receive funding through LFPP focus on activities such as supporting the processing, aggregation, distribution and storage of local and regional food products, developing value-added products and aiding regional food chain coordination.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans, grants and loan guarantees to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements, business development, housing, community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care, and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

USDA touches the lives of Americans each day in so many ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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Source: USDA