AAMP - American Association of Meat Processors

09/20/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/20/2024 09:05

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final MPPEP Awards

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final MPPEP Awards

Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program represented a $325 million total investment in 74 independent meat and poultry processing projects.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA 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 U.S. 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 first launched in 2022.

"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," Secretary 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. Projects being undertaken by AAMP members include:
  • Stan's Specialty meats is a family-run small-scale meat processor in northern Colorado. With support from MPPEP - Phase 2, they will construct a new USDA-inspected facility designed to increase the region's processing capacity and fill the gap in the lack of available USDA-inspected services. Stan's expects to serve 50 new producers and will be hiring 20 new full-time positions.
  • Fisher Packing Company has been in business since 1945 and offers both fee-for-service processing and wholesale purchasing of cattle, hogs, and lamb. With support from MPPEP - Phase 2, they will expand their slaughter and value-added processing capacity at two locations: in Pennville, they will obtain inspection under the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program, and in Redkey they will expand their further processing capacity under USDA inspection. It will also help them meet the consumer request for value-added products.
  • Dundy County Processors is a family-owned beef and pork processing business in rural Benkelman, Nebraska. Utilizing MPPEP - Phase 2 funding, they will construct a new facility to double processing capacity, begin operating under federal inspection, and significantly increase their production of value-added products. With this new increased capacity, they will be able to work with an additional 100 local producers. These improvements will also allow Dundy County Processors to access new wholesale and value-added markets.
  • Mark's Custom Meats is in central Pennsylvania, offering USDA processing for pork and lamb as well as custom livestock processing services. With support from MPPEP - Phase 2, Mark's Custom Meats will double the size of their current facility, increasing the square footage of the kill floor, coolers, and cutting rooms while improving the overall layout and process flow within the 80-year-old building and adding a retail counter. This project is expected to serve an additional 15 new producers, some of which are currently scheduled for over two years out and create four new full-time jobs.
Details on all of the awardsannounced are available online.