The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD) Rural Business‐Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), requests applications for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program—Phase 2 (MPPEP).
Donor Name: Rural Business-Cooperative Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/22/2023
Size of the Grant: $250,000 to $10 million
Grant Duration: 48 months
Details:
The primary goal of MPPEP is to provide new, better and more processing options to meat and poultry producers in the applicant’s market. MPPEP is part of the broader $4 billion USDA Build Back Better Initiative to transform the food supply chain. The meat and poultry processing sector is particularly vulnerable to disruption, consolidation and concentration. It is a high priority for USDA to support increasing capacity and promoting competition in this sector. Strategies that fulfill the primary goal and ensure lasting impacts, include support for more processing capacity, different species and increased processing volume, fair prices, contracts, agreements, and commitments to producers, elevating producer incomes; fair wages and new, stable and safe job opportunities at processing facilities, to keep profits circulating in the rural community; and diversity in business models, geography, and intended beneficiaries, including those in underserved communities.
For MPPEP, USDA is interested in supporting projects that are technically feasible, financially viable, and have already identified other sources of funding (e.g., Federal, State, Tribe or intertribal, local funding, or private funding) to complete projects.
MPPEP is aligned with USDA efforts to:
- Assist rural communities to recover economically from the impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic, particularly disadvantaged communities.
- Reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change through economic support to rural communities and support the policies of Executive Order 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad).
- Ensure equitable access to RD programs and benefits from RD funded projects and support the policies of Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government).
- Contribute to the resilience of the food and agricultural supply chains and support the policies of Executive Order 14017 (America’s Supply Chains).
- Promote competition in the meat and poultry processing sector and support the policies of Executive Order 14036 (Promoting Competition in the American Economy).
Funding Information
- Approximately $123 million is available to fund projects. USDA does not guarantee minimum funding levels or a specific number of awards. Partial awards may be offered by the Agency.
- The maximum award amount is $10 million or 30 percent of the total project costs, whichever is less. The minimum grant amount is $250,000. Projects including construction (and equipment associated with the project) are eligible for grants from $250,000 to $10 million. Projects that only require equipment purchases are eligible for grants from $5 million to $10 million.
Project Period
The maximum period of performance for this grant is 48 months.
Eligible Activities
Eligible activities in this program include, but are not limited to:
- Construction of a new facility or purchase of an inoperable facility, including the purchase of the real estate for the facility;
- Modernizing, renovating, or expanding an existing facility (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing facilities, construction of holding pens, upgrading human handling infrastructure, construction of wastewater management structures, etc.);
- Construction or renovation of mobile slaughter and processing units that are or will be operated under a Federal or State equivalent Grant of Inspection;
- Modernizing processing and manufacturing equipment (including cutting equipment, mixers, grinders, sausage stuffers, smokers, curing equipment, pipes, motors, pumps, and valves);
- Developing, customizing, and installing equipment, devices, and technology that automates processing functions to improve worker conditions and safety;
- Modernizing or upgrading equipment or facilities to ensure food safety;
- Developing, customizing, and installing climate‐smart equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves air and/or water quality, and/or meets one or more of USDA’s climate action goals;
- Purchasing or upgrading composting or rendering equipment related to the processing of animal protein for human consumption;
- Developing packaging and labeling capacities compliance under applicable law (e.g., sealing, bagging, boxing, labeling, conveying, and product moving equipment);
- Developing or improving workforce recruitment, training, apprenticeships, and retention to ensure expansion projects will be adequately staffed and offer opportunities for advancement to workers;
- Ensuring compliance with occupational and other safety requirements under applicable law; including developing Hazard, Analysis, and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans;
- Staffing or operational costs specifically tied to the proposed project;
- Training on the use of all equipment purchased under the grant and associated new processes; and
- Posting USDA’s standard infrastructure investment signage during construction of the Project.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants include Tribes and tribal entities, for-profit and nonprofit entities, corporations, producer-owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, state or local government entities, and other entities (regardless of legal structure) who currently engage – or plan to engage – in expanding meat and poultry processing capacity through slaughter or slaughter and further processing. Eligible applicants engaged in or planning to engage in only further processing activities are not eligible.
- Private entities must be independently owned and operated. All entities must be domestically owned, and their meat and poultry processing facilities must be physically located and operated within the U.S. or its territories. There is no rural area requirement for the program. Eligible applicants must process or plan to process one or more species subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Eligible applicants processing non‐ amenable species under voluntary Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection can also apply for funding.
- Eligible applicants who receive an award must comply with FSIS standards, possess or plan to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection, a grant of inspection under a Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, or a state meat and poultry inspection program with standards at least equal to Federal inspection processes.
- Eligible applicants, including affiliates of the eligible applicants, must not hold a market share greater than or equal to the entity that holds the fourth largest share of that market for beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing. All applicants must certify whether they hold a market share greater to or equal to the top four processors as applicable in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing. Applicants are only required to certify their market share for beef, pork, chicken and turkey processing.
- Applicants that engage or propose to engage in further processing may be eligible provided that the project increases demand for animals; increases opportunities for producers to access value‐added markets; and improves the viability of an existing processing operation. Additionally, the inputs for further processing must include the products of slaughter by the applicant.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
