Grant Awarded to Boost Southeast Pork & Beef Processing
It’s time for your Southeast Regional Ag News. On the Ag Information Network, I’m Haylie Shipp.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack last week announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $73 million in 21 grant projects through the first round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program.
USDA is delivering on the multi-pronged goals of these investments:
• Supporting producer-focused business models
• Strengthening Local and Regional Food Systems
• Reducing barriers to processing, such as with the Cutting Edge Meat Company, a facility in Leakesville, Mississippi, which provides pork and beef processing for producers in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida. With this investment, they will significantly increase their capacity and shorten the six-month backlog for processing currently facing producers.
• Competing at scale
• Restoring jobs in rural places
• And Empowering family-owned businesses
The program was designed to support capacity expansion projects in concert with other private and public finance tools. Last week’s announcement is the first round of funding made available through Phase I. Additional announcements are expected in the coming weeks.
