BENSON, N.C., November 3, 2022 – North Carolina Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight, Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Congressman Bob Etheridge and North Carolina Agricultural Finance Authority Executive Director Robert Hosford joined together, at Lee’s Fresh Market in Benson, to announce USDA funding into the state’s meat and poultry production.
Rural Development is investing $15 million in Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program funds into North Carolina through the North Carolina Agricultural Finance Authority.
The MPILP provides grant funding to intermediary lenders who finance – or plan to finance – the start-up, expansion, or operation of slaughter, or other processing of meat and poultry.
The objective of the MPILP is to strengthen the financing capacity for independent meat processors, and to create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain.
“Through this investment we are supporting processing projects at every scale,” Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight. “Whether they are neighborhood butcher shops or regional scale facilities, we are opening new opportunities for both producers and consumers, and that matters to rural communities.”
Background
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and 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 www.usda.gov.
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