Someone once said, “Meat processing isn’t rocket science; it’s more difficult.”
Smaller meat processors have certainly been navigating challenges in recent years that would vex the brightest aerospace engineers. Coming out of the pandemic, a severe slaughter capacity shortage threatened the viability of many ranchers. Then, just as more slaughter capacity began to emerge, Mother Nature brought on a drought that—along with screwworm and other factors—has reduced the nation’s cattle herd to the lowest level in more than a decade. And byproduct disposal is a persistent problem that keeps smaller processors at a competitive disadvantage.
Throw in the impact of tariffs on equipment and construction costs, and rising energy prices, and many processors are ready to shout, “Houston, we have a problem!”
A new grant opportunity from USDA Rural Development can help provide a lifeline to existing beef processors seeking to diversify their businesses and increase revenue from the entire carcass.
The recently announced MPPEP IV grant targets $60 million in funding to assist with equipment purchases, support employee training, help processors with HACCP plans and SSOPs, and expand the ability to increase byproduct utilization.
This new program has two separate funding buckets.
The first offers between $50,000 and $2 million to support the purchase of equipment over $250,000, along with any necessary improvements, upgrades, renovations, or retrofits to an existing facility needed to install the equipment. The second is for a Simplified Equipment-Only Project, with $10,000 to $250,000 in funding available for equipment purchases. The expansion program requires a 50% match, and equipment-only grants require only 25% in matching funds.
The deadline is August 7th, but it’s never too early to begin preparing an application. The Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance network is available to support eligible processors in developing their applications.
If you aren’t already in the Flower Hill Institute database, please send a request for technical assistance using this link. If you are already in our database, reach out to our regional directors, Chris Roper at croper@flowerhill.institute, or Dave Carter at dcarter@flowerhill.institute.
