WASHINGTON — As part of the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $196 million to strengthen the agricultural supply chain and lower food costs.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is championing America’s farmers and ranchers by helping expand businesses and supporting more robust American supply chains,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in an announcement about the new initiative. “Today’s investments in agricultural producers and rural entrepreneurs will create better economic opportunities that bolster food supply chains across the country and increase competition — a key pillar of Bidenomics. This will result in more affordable prices and choices for consumers, as well as more opportunities and revenue for farmers.”
The investment will support 185 projects to create new and improved market opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs across the nation.
A few examples of funding supporting the meat and poultry industry include the following:
- Lot 279 LLC in Nebraska will use a Value-Added Producer Grant to process, market, distribute and advertise its direct-to-consumer beef cattle cuts and shares. The project is expected to increase revenue for the company by almost $600,000 a year and increase their customer base by 4,800 people.
- Centrillium Protein LLC will purchase meat processing equipment with $15.1 million through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program. The company will produce lean finely textured beef, rendered tallow and trim prime meats, which will be supplied to restaurants and retailers.
- FlexCold LLC plans to use $8.2 million through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program to purchase mobile racking equipment for its cold storage facility. This will allow waitlist customers to house their meat, packaged goods, poultry, frozen produce and seafood products, while creating 35 new jobs.
- White Oak Pastures Inc. will use a $250,000 Value-Added Producer Grant to obtain working capital to process cattle and poultry into beef and chicken packaged products.
A list of all the awards can be found here.
