Biden-Harris Administration Invests $110 Million in Meat and Poultry Processing to Strengthen Food Supply Chain, Increase Competition, and Lower Food Costs
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2024/07/11/biden-harris-administration-invests-110-million-meat-and-poultry
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is making investments that will strengthen American food supply chains, increase independent meat and poultry processing capacity, create more, new and better markets for producers, and lower food costs.
Thanks to funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, USDA is investing nearly $110 million through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) and the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) Grant Program.
Vilsack stated that “the Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are advancing a sustainable vision of agriculture that prioritizes the needs of hardworking producers and small businesses and keeps rural communities strong,” and that the “USDA is working to give farmers and ranchers a fairer chance to compete in the marketplace, which will increase local food options and lower costs for American families.”
The investments are part of USDA’s efforts to create a more competitive agricultural system, advance President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, and support the Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, which dedicates resources to expand independent processing capacity. Together these actions are designed to help to lower food costs by spurring competition and strengthening supply chains.
More than $83 million in grants will be provided to 24 independent processors in 15 states under the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) to help build new processing plants, create hundreds of jobs, give local producers and entrepreneurs better business opportunities, and give consumers more options at the grocery store.
The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program is funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, through which USDA’s Rural Development has already provided 59 awards totaling over $291.4 million to expand processing capacity and strengthen the food supply chain.
USDA is also awarding $26.9 million to 33 projects in 23 states through the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) grant program to expand processing within the meat and poultry industry. This announcement builds on the first round of $9.5 million awarded to 42 projects announced in March 2024.
This second set of awards through Local MCap is for both Equipment Only and Processing Expansion project types. Simplified equipment only projects fund projects from $10,000 to $250,000 to purchase processing equipment such as meat grinders, stuffers, and smokers. Processing expansion projects are eligible to receive between $100,000 and $5 million to increase processing or rendering capacity through activities such as facility upgrades, equipment purchases, and training.
In April 2023, USDA announced up to $75 million available for Local MCap to fund innovative projects designed to build resilience in the meat and poultry supply chain by providing producers with more local processing options and strengthening their market potential. This grant program is targeted to support meat and poultry processors with smaller-scale projects, with a goal to increase processing availability and variety for local and regional livestock producers. The program is administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and is authorized by the American Rescue Plan.
USDA will announce additional awards for both programs at a later date.
Vilsack: Thompson exaggerates EPA’s impact on meat operations
According to the Hagstrom Report, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson is exaggerating the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules on the meat processing industry.
In an opening statement on a hearing on EPA’s impact on agriculture last week, Thompson said, “While [President] Biden’s USDA spends millions to — supposedly — expand meat and poultry processing capacity, his EPA is simultaneously proposing a rule that would shutter processing plants and impose significant compliance costs across industries vital to food affordability.”
This comes after the USDA has “134 new or expanded opportunities across 48 states to provide additional processing capacity.”
Thompson noted that “Earlier this year EPA published a proposed rule that significantly changes the effluent limitation guidelines for meat and poultry processing,” but Vilsack claims that it’s a bit of an exaggeration and that “most processing plants won’t have to shut down.”
Vilsack emphasized that the EPA is only implementing rules under environmental laws passed by Congress with the courts often setting deadlines for those rules.
Letter Signed by Farm and Ranch Groups Supports MCOOL
Northern Ag reported that U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) announced endorsements from national and regional farm and ranch advocacy groups for his fight to include mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) in the 2024 Farm Bill, claiming that “American producers want their high-quality, domestic beef product labeled appropriately when put on the shelf next to foreign beef,” and that “consumers want to know that they’re truly buying American products.”
CEO of R-CALF USA, Bill Bullard confirmed that “country of origin labels on beef are essential for promoting competition in the grocery store … With them, consumers can choose from which country they want their beef produced. Without them, it is the multinational beef packers that choose from which country the consumers’ beef will be sourced. Consumers deserve the right to choose…”
The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) also strongly supports the effort to reinstate Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) as USCA President, Justin Tupper added that “ensuring transparency in our beef markets not only upholds consumer rights but also significantly supports our domestic producers by highlighting the quality and origins of American beef. Mandatory labeling will empower consumers with the knowledge they deserve and help maintain the integrity and competitiveness of our U.S. cattle industry….”
The National Farmers Union and state producer organizations from 12 different states also endorsed Rounds’ letter in support of MCOOL as the deadline for the Farm Bill approaches on September 30. Different policy frameworks have been unveiled by each party in both the House and the Senate, with the House framework already having passed through the House Agriculture Committee.
USDA invests $6.8 million in southeast Kansas meat processing infrastructure
USDA invests $6.8 million in southeast Kansas meat processing infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kansas Rural Development Director Christy Davis announced that the USDA is investing millions of dollars in a southeast Kansas community that will strengthen food supply chains, increase independent meat and poultry processing capacity, and lower food costs.
Davis said, “The USDA is committed to the needs of hardworking producers and small businesses that keep rural communities strong,” and that they are “working to give farmers and ranchers a chance to compete in the marketplace, which will increase local food options and lower costs for Kansas families.”
A $6,871,380 grant will help construct, equip, and obtain a grant of inspection for a slaughter and fabrication facility, serving an estimated 100 producers in Kansas and Missouri, for Real Kansas Meats LLC of Fall River.
The project is expected to create 117 new full-time jobs.
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