There is less than a month left to apply for meat processing grants offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development. A total of $150 million is available through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The maximum award amount available to eligible meat and poultry processors is $25 million, or 20 percent of total project costs.
Grant funding is intended to expand overall processing capacity. Eligible activities include the building of new facilities or updating and expanding existing ones, modernizing equipment, offsetting costs associated with becoming an inspected facility, or supporting workforce recruitment and training.
The first round of grants is estimated to support at least 15 facilities. Another $225 million in grants is expected to become available in a second round of funding. All applications for the first round of grant opportunities are due Monday, April 11.
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