Meat and Poultry Supply Chain - USDA.gov

Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants

Round 2 funding is forthcoming.

With this grant funding, meat and poultry processing businesses can cover the costs for improvements such as expanding existing facilities, modernizing processing equipment and meeting packaging, labeling, and food safety requirements needed to achieve a Federal Grant of Inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or to operate under a state’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. These changes will allow these facilities to serve more customers in more markets.

Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program

Phase I

Phase I Gap Financing Grants ($150 million) for estimated 15 projects with greatest near-term impact. Request for Proposals for processor applicants will be published this Spring. Please sign up to receive emails from Rural Development who will send around the RFP when it is open.

Phase II

Phase II Additional Financing Assistance Grants ($225 million). Request for Proposals from processor applicants will be published in the Summer 2022. Please sign up to receive emails from Rural Development who will send around the RFP when it is open.

Meat and Poultry Intermediary Re-Lending Program

Grants and Loans to Lenders for loans to businesses ($275 million). Request for Applications from potential lenders will be published by Summer 2022; the first phase of loans will focus on lenders that invest in underserved communities such as CDFI loan funds, cooperatives, tribal governments, and public institutions. Please sign up to receive emails from Rural Development who will send around the RFA when it is open.

Meat and Poultry Processing Workforce Development Program

$100 million to support development of a well-trained workforce, safe workplaces and fair wages by working closely with partner organizations, including labor unions, with expertise in workforce development and worker health and safety.

Promote innovation and lower barriers to entry via access to expert knowledge

USDA will invest an estimated $50 million in technical assistance and research and development to help independent business owners, entrepreneurs, producers, and other groups, such as cooperatives and worker associations, create new or expand existing processing capacity.

Meat and poultry processing is a complex and technical sector that requires strict adherence to a host of environmental, food safety, worker safety requirements. Creating new business models that support both workers and producers is similarly complex and time intensive. At the same time, processors need access to new and emerging innovative practices and technologies.

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