USDA Invests Nearly $3.9 Million in Missouri Meat and Poultry Processing: Eight Projects Funded, Largest Grant $1.7 Million
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Missouri State Director Ben Baker announced in Columbia on November 3 that USDA will invest nearly $3.9 million in eight meat processing projects in the U.S. state of Missouri through Phase 4 of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), helping independent processors expand capacity.
The largest of the eight awards goes to Hertzog's Premium Beef LLC, a beef processor in Passaic, Bates County, which will receive $1.7 million to expand its slaughtering, rail, cooling, refrigeration and dry-aging systems, doubling production capacity. The Center Cut Slaughter and Meat Processing LLC in Farmington, St. Francois County, will receive $906,871 to install slaughtering, grinding, slicing, packaging and material-handling equipment, also doubling production.
The remaining six projects are: Wright City Meat & Sausage Company LLC in Wright City, Warren County, $250,000 for smoking, packaging, slicing and stuffing equipment, raising production by 55 percent; Vonallmen Processing Co., doing business as Garrison Farms Meat Processing LLC, in Koshkonong, Oregon County, $249,705 to upgrade processing, refrigeration, safety, material-handling and environmental-control equipment, raising production by 20 percent; 2 Creek Butchery LLC in Monett, Barry County, $229,458 for slaughtering, cutting and packaging equipment, raising production by 30 percent; Williams Meat Company LLC in Norwood, Wright County, $228,356, raising production by 15 percent; Indian Creek Meats LLC in Poplar Bluff, Butler County, $150,363, raising production by 50 percent; and Powers Farm LLC in Shell Knob, Stone County, $130,500 for processing and packaging equipment and facility improvements, raising production by 50 percent and benefiting about 330 livestock producers.
Baker said Missouri ranks in the top five nationwide for recent MPPEP investments and that the state's independent meat processors are vital economic powerhouses for rural communities. He said the investments expand local capacity, champion local choice and independence, build a more competitive market and a more resilient supply chain, and ensure livestock producers have dependable market access.
MPPEP is managed by USDA Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Services and provides grants to help eligible independent processors expand capacity, encouraging competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector and improving supply chain resiliency. USDA says it has awarded more than $200 million to independent businesses under MPPEP, and the projects have created thousands of jobs across the country.
(Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：牧场上的肉牛群（资料图）。Beefmaster Breeders United 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Beef cattle on pasture (file photo). By Beefmaster Breeders United, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
