US Department of Agriculture  is awarding more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, spur competition to expand market opportunities for US farmers and create jobs in rural areas.

This marks the final investment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which was launched in 2022.

The investments announced Sept. 19 also advance the President’s Investing in America agenda and support the Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity.

“For the past four years, the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of the hardworking producers and small business owners who keep rural communities strong,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “Through investments like these, USDA is working to give farmers and ranchers a fair chance to compete in the marketplace, which will increase local food options and lower grocery costs for American families.”

Since the beginning of the program, USDA has provided 74 awards totaling more than $325 million through MPPEP to expand processing capacity and strengthen the food supply chain.

Many projects are still in development and have already increased the processing capacity at these facilities by more than 800,000 cattle, 14,000 hogs, 23 million chickens and 5 million turkeys annually. Additionally these projects are serving almost 900 additional meat and poultry producers and have created more than 1,200 new jobs.

As part of today’s announcement, the funding will help build new processing plants, create hundreds of jobs, give local producers and entrepreneurs better business opportunities, and give consumers more options at the grocery store. For example:

• America’s Heartland Packing is receiving a $10 million grant to build a large beef processing plant outside of St. Louis. The plant will be LEED certified and will supply beef to domestic and international wholesalers, retailers, pet food companies and food manufacturers.
• Mark’s Custom Meats in Pennsylvania is receiving a $750,000 grant to double the size of their current meat processing facility, serving an additional 15 producers and creating four new full-time jobs.
• Damian's Craft Meats is a Latinx-owned processor and is using a $4 million grant to build a new facility in southeastern Michigan to serve local cattle, hog, goat, and lamb producers. Damian's will offer fee-for-service processing and will also purchase animals from local producers through competitive and transparent pricing.

The awards will benefit people living in Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York and Pennsylvania.

Details on all of the awards announced is available online.

Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested over $1.4 billion to support new or expanded small-sized and medium-sized processing facilities.

Source: USDA