USDA is providing the $59 million in grants to five independent processors under the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The funding will help build new processing plants, create hundreds of jobs, give local producers and entrepreneurs more options and business opportunities, and give consumers more options at the grocery store.
For example:
- In Virginia, Shenandoah Valley Organic LLC is receiving a $3.6 million grant to expand its organic chicken processing facility in Harrisonburg to meet increasing demand. The grant will be used for equipment purchases, new conveyor lines, building and site modifications, and a new wastewater treatment system. The improvements will help the facility alleviate processing bottlenecks and nearly double its processing capacity to 630,000 birds per week. These investments will create 300 jobs and enable Shenandoah Valley to provide more processing options and choices for customers.
- In Idaho, Riverbend Meats LLC is receiving a $25 million grant to help build an environmentally friendly beef processing plant in Idaho Falls. The funding also will be used for custom equipment and installation of nine miles of mainline gas pipe. The project is expected to double the plant's capacity from 300 head per day to 600, increasing the price ranchers receive for their cattle and lowering costs for consumers.
- In South Dakota, CNF Enterprises LLC is receiving a $3.3 million grant to help build a 30,000-square-foot processing facility in New Underwood. The facility will have the capacity to process 4,000 head per year, including beef, pork, lamb and buffalo. CNF Enterprises is a new company that was formed to help meet the increasing demand for high-quality, locally sourced meat products.
Through the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris Administration has made once-in-a-generation investments in rural America. These investments have provided USDA with an unprecedented amount of resources to invest in rural communities and transform our food system.
In November, USDA awarded $75 million to 22 projects under MPPEP. In January, USDA awarded an additional $12 million to three more MPPEP projects. The program is one of many actions that USDA is taking to expand processing capacity, create more revenue streams and market opportunities for producers, and transform the nation’s food system.
Additional information on all these programs is available at www.usda.gov/meat.
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 all Americans each day in so many positive 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.
Source : usda.gov