“Through the Strengthening Processing for US Ranchers Program, USDA is taking targeted action to preserve the independent processing capacity that ranchers rely on, strengthen competition across the American beef supply chain, and support rural communities across the country,” Rollins said.

Rollins said the SPUR Program is part of USDA’s Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry by strengthening domestically owned processing capacity and ensuring America’s cattle producers continue to have strong market opportunities and meet America’s historically high beef demand.

“Small and mid-size beef processors are essential to maintain the diversity of America’s food system,” said Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears. “Supporting this processing capacity helps preserve market options for our United States ranchers, strengthens regional supply chains and ensures American families continue to have access to safe, high-quality beef produced here at home.”

“Competitive supply chains help ensure American ranchers have reliable markets for their cattle,” said Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce. “Through the SPUR Program, USDA is bolstering market opportunities for ranchers and supporting a resilient beef industry.”

These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Payments are intended to provide financial support to eligible beef processors who have faced increased costs of acquiring cattle for processing due to the abnormally low number of cattle being raised in the US at this time and other conditions currently impacting the cattle market. Additional information, including applications, will be provided to eligible entities using contact information that is currently on file with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Entities eligible to receive funding under SPUR must be beef processing establishments under federal inspection, as well as beef processing establishments inspected under the Talmadge-Aiken Cooperative Inspection Program and the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program (CIS). Further, eligible entities must be US owned and cannot be nationally dominant in beef processing or owned by an entity that is. For purposes of SPUR, nationally dominant will be defined as an entity holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity holding the fourth-largest share of the beef processing market.

USDA noted that for decades, the beef processing industry in the US has been heavily concentrated. Today, four companies control nearly 85% of the beef processing market, including two foreign owned companies. USDA said ensuring domestic processors can continue operating during this period where the US cattle herd is at a 75-year low is critical to national security and will ensure a strong supply chain once the herd is rebuilt.

USDA said this new program directly supports the USDA Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry and the USDA Small Processors Action Plan by ensuring American ranchers have access to regional processing capacity to support branded and value-added beef programs, such as the Product of USA label that USDA started promoting earlier in 2026.

USDA said maintaining this regional processing capacity is also a key part of the Make America Healthy Again movement by ensuring access to high-quality protein in alignment with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Source: USDA