By Dave Carter, Flower Hill Institute
As the pandemic impacts rippled throughout the food system in 2021, the incoming Biden administration launched the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant (MPIRG), offering smaller processing businesses up to $200,000 to become USDA-inspected to equip them to develop and market products in retail stores and restaurants.
The first round of MPIRG grants awarded in 2021 is scheduled to be wrapped up this September, so my fellow Regional Director, Chris Roper, and I have been stopping by grant recipients during our travels to see if our network can provide technical assistance to help them cross the finish line.
As we visited these processors, we connected with determined, persistent business owners working hard to expand their enterprises to better serve their community and area ranchers.
One example is Stephanie Brueggen and her husband, Timothy, of Falls Meat Services in Pigeon Falls, WI.
Three years ago, the Brueggens operated a 5,900 sq. ft., state-inspected butcher shop with a small retail store wedged just off the processing floor. As demand from ranchers and customers exploded during the pandemic, Stephanie and Timothy began to draw ambitious plans to double their footprint and expand their retail market.
“We had been considering moving to federal inspection for some time,” Stephanie said. When MPIRG funding became available, we decided to become a USDA-inspected facility.”
MPIRG funding was one piece of the financial pie that included a significant commitment of the family’s resources and a processing expansion grant offered through the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.
Falls Meat Services expanded 11,300 sq. ft. processing facility, which includes a 1,450 sq. ft. retail store, stands as a bustling hub of activity in the tiny community of roughly 500 residents.
Stephanie notes, “It’s hard for a small business to find the resources to grow. The grant provided by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and the MPIRG grant offered by USDA helped us achieve our dreams.”
Clark’s Custom Meats on the outskirts of St. Joseph, MO, offers a similar illustration. Butch and Trina Clark were married in the 1990s when Butch was working as a retail meat manager for a large grocery chain. He loved the work but hated dealing with the corporate stress.
So, they launched Clark’s Custom Meat out of their home in 2003. As local customers discovered their high-quality products, they acquired a facility with a small retail shop on the highway leading into St. Joseph. In 2021, Max and Danielle Carillo moved back to St. Joseph and started working at Clark’s. When the MPIRG grant became available, the two couples applied for funding to help them become an inspected facility under the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program (CIS), in which participating states coordinate with USDA to offer federal-level inspection utilizing state inspectors.
When I stopped by, Trina and Danielle were buttoning up the paperwork before their final inspection for approval as CIS processors.
Trina said, “The improvements we’ve made with help from MPIRG have already increased our throughput by thousands of pounds each month.”
The Clarks are transitioning operating control of the business to Max and Daniella, who are dedicated to continuing to build the business.
Their work is a ministry for both couples. Their retail store reflects that commitment, with non-meat items offered by veterans and an organization supporting women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Less than 200 miles away, Amie Brunkow, in the tiny community of Alta Vista, KS, is demonstrating the tenacity of Rocky Balboa in upgrading her business to a USDA-inspected facility. Amie acquired a processing facility constructed in the 1940s and has steadily worked to improve the business. She accessed MPIRG in 2021 to help her become a USDA-inspected business.
The journey since obtaining her MPIRG grant has been anything but smooth. A major road construction project closed off direct access to the facility, causing delays in the upgrades and complicating the challenge of locating electricians and other professionals willing to drive to Alta Vista to complete the work. Meanwhile, Amie was battling significant health challenges, including a stroke, a broken arm and extensive treatments for cancer.
As I toured her plant in mid-April, the electricians she finally located were installing the final upgrades and preparing to transfer the power to the new system later that day.
Amie told me, “Federal inspection status will significantly benefit our producers and ranchers. It opens doors for Kansas producers, allowing their products to reach markets across the United States. This expansion offers limitless possibilities for diversity and sales, limited only by their imagination. Our operation operates out of a 75-year-old building with solid infrastructure, but essential systems like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC were in dire need of upgrades. I saw the grant as an opportunity to invest in improving these foundational aspects rather than focusing solely on short-term profits.”
Stephanie, Trina, Danielle, and Amie are no exceptions. They exemplify the caliber of hard-working small business owners utilizing USDA's resources to supplement their capital and sweat equity to expand their businesses and better connect their local ranchers with their community.
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Please note: The Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance (MPPTA) Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The MPPTA Project Coordinators do not offer or provide direct contractor services or financial capital, grant writing, or project management services, nor does the voluntary use of MPPTA guarantee the success of a grant application or the grant-funded project