U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced that USDA is moving forward with nearly $4 million in investments to help ten Kansas meat processors expand capacity, strengthen competition, and create new market opportunities for American ranchers.
This follows the recent announcement by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary Rollins outlining $57 million in investments through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) across 40 states. With the congressional notification period now complete, USDA is beginning to obligate these funds to strengthen America’s domestic meat processing capacity and supply chain.
“Under President Trump, this administration is delivering for the men and women who feed our nation. Now that these funds are moving, ranchers will have more options close to home, more competition will return to the market, and more of the value of American-raised beef will stay in rural communities,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. “A strong, independent processing sector is essential to our food security, and these Kansas processors build the resilient supply chain this country needs.”
“Today’s announcement providing investments in Kansas meat processors builds on President Trump’s Executive Order “Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers,” said Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Gimmie Jo Jansonius. “USDA is working to give farmers and ranchers a better chance to compete in the marketplace, increasing local food options and lowering costs for Kansas families.”
The following area Kansas processors have received MPPEP grants:
- Hat Creek Butchery of Plains will receive a $249,367 grant to help purchase and install a commercial HVAC refrigeration system, a Pro Smoker 320T-HVE Smokehouse, and VC999 thermoformer tooling sets. The project will streamline production, increase harvest capacity by 200 percent per day, add smoked beef, jerky, and snack stick production capabilities, improve packaging efficiency, and support expanded wholesale, institutional, retail, and food-service markets while increasing opportunities for regional cattle producers.
- Meade Locker & Processing LLC of Meade will receive a $249,711 grant to help purchase refrigerated cold storage units, a blast chiller, smokehouse, dehydrator, strip slicer, and band sealer. The project will streamline processing, increase capacity, enhance ready-to-eat and jerky production, and support additional toll-processing customers and producers. These investments will allow the facility to accept more work, hold more finished products, expand retail and shipping sales channels, and strengthen producers’ access to federally inspected processing services.
MPPEP is managed by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Services and provides grants to help eligible independent processors expand their capacity. USDA Rural Development designed the program to encourage competition and sustainable growth in the United States meat processing sector and improve supply chain resiliency.
USDA has awarded more than $200 million to independent businesses under the MPPEP program. These projects have created thousands of jobs across the country. Learn more about USDA’s investments to strengthen the meat and poultry supply chain at usda.gov/meat.
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