U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Oklahoma State Director Kenneth Corn announced today that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $250,000 in a local ranching operation to assist in processing and marketing beef directly sourced from Oklahoma. In total, USDA is investing more than $9 million across 25 projects across the United States which will help farmers, ranchers, processors, and rural businesses diversify the nation’s meat supply.
This investment in Oklahoma will support Dry Creek Meats LLC in Leedey. Dry Creek Meats produces grass-fed cattle and provides the locally sourced beef directly to the consumer.
“President Biden recognizes the need to directly support our farmers and ranchers, who are at the forefront of our nation’s food supply chain,” Corn said. “By investing directly to our local producers, like Dry Creek Meats, we are providing the tools to support rural food businesses and support the needs of consumers across the country and supporting the growth of our economy right here in Oklahoma.”
Additionally, today USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced 24 other new investments to bolster meat production. Across the nation USDA is awarding 23 Value Added Producer Grant program grants totaling $3.9 million to help producer-owned companies process and market new products. USDA is also awarding a total of $5.7 million to two companies through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program. This program supports new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution. The 25 projects are located in California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Secretary Vilsack also highlighted some of USDA’s accomplishments to date to support meat producers and support efforts to strengthen local and regional food supply chains.
He noted that during fiscal year 2022, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provided $21.9 million to 111 businesses and individuals in 37 states through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG) for strengthening and developing new market opportunities for U.S. meat and poultry processors. This brings the total investment in MPIRG to $54.6 million.
To further these efforts, AMS also invested up to $25 million to establish the Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA). This program consists of a nationwide network to ensure that participants in USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives have access to a full-range technical assistance to support their project development and success.
Facility improvements and expansions funded through MPIRG will help processors obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection or qualify for a state’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. Achieving a Federal Grant of Inspection or operating under a Cooperative Interstate Shipment program allows meat and poultry processors to ship products across state lines, develop new markets, increase capacity, and better meet consumer and producer demand along the supply chain.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/ok.