The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Wednesday announced an additional $21.9 million of funding is being awarded to 111 grant projects through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG), bringing total funding to $54.6 million. This year's awards will fund projects in 37 states. The funding will help strengthen and develop new market opportunities for meat and poultry processors throughout the United States. To further these efforts, AMS is also encouraging MPIRG awardees and eligible participants in USDA's Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives to request assistance through the Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA). Launched in March 2022, MPPTA connects participants to a nationwide network of resources and expertise.
"The Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants will help meat and poultry processors make necessary facility improvements, expand their businesses, and strengthen the nation's food supply chain," said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. "These grants are one part of USDA's Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives and will contribute to our efforts to transform our food system."
"USDA continues to build capacity and increase economic opportunity for small and midsized meat and poultry producers across the country," added Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt.
In North Dakota, projects funded this round include:
- Memas Meats LLC, Berthold, $200,000. Memas Meats LLC is a very small beef and pork slaughter and processing plant. As a family-owned business originally started in December 2020, they operate a 7,600 sq- ft facility with approximately 11 employees. Memas Meats LLC offers State Inspected slaughter and processing services and produce various types of value-added and fresh cut meat products. While their annualized growth rate has been 20%, the facility is lacking key modernization necessary to help achieve the CIS status needed to expand any further and comply with FSIS protocols. In this project, they propose upgrading processing equipment to reduce food safety risk and ensure compliance with FSIS standards. They also propose enclosing holding capacity to ensure the facility meets FSIS humane animal handling standards. These efforts will result in substantial benefits for the business and local community.
- Spruce Hill Meats LLC, Bowman, $199,382, Spruce Hill Meats, after changing ownership in 2020, has spent the last 20 months renovating and modernizing its facility in an effort to become a CIS compliant meat processing facility. In 2021 Spruce Hill Meats received $200,000 in the first round of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant to modernize meat smoking equipment, build a meat smoking addition, upgrade various equipment, and hire a HACCP consultant. The scope of work for this initial grant will continue until 2024 and Spruce Hill Meats will continue to progress on these goals.
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.
MPIRG recipients and other eligible participants, especially small and underserved stakeholders, in USDA's Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives are encouraged to take advantage of the broad technical assistance offered through MPPTA. AMS has cooperative agreements with six organizations to form the MPPTA network, which has already provided valuable assistance to over 300 businesses and organizations across the U.S. and its territories since its launch earlier this year.
Categories: North Dakota, Livestock, Poultry