USDA awards $110 million to expand independent meat processing

Five dozen independent meat processors will receive a combined $110 million in grants to go into business or expand their processing capacity, including a new plant in Texas that would create 1,500 jobs, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday. The USDA says the expansion of independent meat processing capacity will make the food supply chain more resilient and result in better prices for farmers and consumers.

The bulk of the money, $83 million, would go to 24 processors in 15 states to share the cost of building, refurbishing, or equipping slaughter plants. Three companies were awarded the maximum grant of $10 million — Noah’s Ark Processors, a kosher beef processor in Hastings, Nebraska; locally owned North State Processing in Hamlet, North Carolina; and Producer Owned Beef in Amarillo, Texas, which would expand regional cattle slaughter capacity by 15 percent and create 1,500 jobs.

The grants were part of $291.4 million awarded through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program.

An additional $26.9 million was awarded to 33 projects in 23 states through the Local Meat Capacity grant program, which supports the purchase of processing equipment and the expansion of capacity through such steps as worker training and facility upgrades. Nearly half of the $75 million earmarked for the program has now been awarded.