WSDA Local Meat Processing Capacity Grants
THIS GRANT CLOSED 2/28/22. Please read on for more information.
The Washington State Legislature allocated $3.6 million dollars for grants to assist small and midsize meat and poultry processors in Washington. The grants were awarded to expand capacity to serve small and midsize farmers and ranchers who sell their farm-raised meat products directly to consumers and local buyers.
Mid-way Grant Impacts Report Available Now!
Completed projects are already making an impact on the critical meat processing services available to small farms and ranches.
The fundamental purpose of this grant program is to increase farmers' and ranchers’ access to livestock slaughter and processing services, especially but not limited to USDA-inspected services, in order to improve access to local meat products for the people of Washington State. This public need became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when food supply chains were disrupted and the importance of resilient local food economies became evident.
AWARDS OVERVIEW
WSDA announced awards of this grant on March 15, 2022.
REQUESTS RECEIVED:
REVIEW PROCESS: WSDA was fortunate to have a committee of 12 expert reviewers from across the state, who reviewed anonymized applications. Reviewers scored applications based on consideration of a project’s ability to expand harvest or processing capacity and provide direct benefit to small, direct-marketing farms. Project achievability was also a key consideration (ie: reasonableness of project and project costs, level of planning, readiness to implement, and achievability on the timeline). Applications were further discussed among reviewers, to ensure the appropriate ranking of projects.
FUNDING APPROACH: In the Small Project category, reviewer consensus was to fund more projects at small amounts – in order to spread resources as widely as possible across the state. Reviewers felt that even a small amount of funding could be impactful for each applicant. Geographical areas with particularly limited access to meat processing services received additional consideration and funds for top-scoring projects. Within the top-scoring projects, those that will increase small and direct-marketing farms’ access to USDA-inspected harvest received a higher amount of funding relative to other top-scoring projects. WSDA awarded 36 projects in this category. In the Large Project category, the approach was to fund a small number of the highest-scoring projects at an amount that will allow them to significantly expand capacity and make a notable impact on small farms’ access to USDA-inspected processing services. Geographic impact across the state was also considered. WSDA awarded 4 projects in this category.
FUNDED PROJECTS: 40 projects were awarded across 26 counties and all regions of the state, including:
36 “small projects” supporting capacity among on-farm slaughterers, custom-exempt processors, poultry processors, new processors, halal processing, and a few small-scale USDA projects. Awards ranged from $20,000 to $150,000, averaging $50,000 per awardee.
4 “large projects” to significant and rapidly expand access to USDA-inspected slaughter and butcher services for farms across the state. Awards ranged from $165,000 to $630,000, and as a whole are projected to expand USDA-inspected services to small farms by more than 10,000 animals harvested/processed per year, including beef, lamb, goat, and pork.
WSDA is happy to answer questions applicants may have about the award process, applications, or awarded projects. Please reach out to Regional Markets Program staff Alyssa Jumars: alyssa.jumars@agr.wa.gov or 206-743-4169
REQUESTS RECEIVED:
- 110 eligible applications were received, including
- 34 applications for new, aspiring meat processors (many of them farmers exploring processing for themselves and others), and
- an additional 14 existing operators adding a new processing activity (for example: custom-exempt operators pursuing USDA-inspected status, or an on-farm slaughterer developing new, custom-exempt cut-and-wrap capacity).
- $27 million was requested in funding, and
- Applicants further indicated that if there were no funding or timeline limitations, they would request an additional $44 million to expand facilities and create new capacity.
- purchase or repair equipment (meat saws, grinders, stuffers, smokers, curing units, patty makers, vacuum packers, labelers, on-farm slaughter trucks);
- improve or expand facilities (additional or upgraded cooler/freezers, upgraded electrical or water utilities, installation of rail systems, expanded slaughter floors, expanded processing rooms, site development);
- and conduct facility planning or food safety and staff training.
REVIEW PROCESS: WSDA was fortunate to have a committee of 12 expert reviewers from across the state, who reviewed anonymized applications. Reviewers scored applications based on consideration of a project’s ability to expand harvest or processing capacity and provide direct benefit to small, direct-marketing farms. Project achievability was also a key consideration (ie: reasonableness of project and project costs, level of planning, readiness to implement, and achievability on the timeline). Applications were further discussed among reviewers, to ensure the appropriate ranking of projects.
FUNDING APPROACH: In the Small Project category, reviewer consensus was to fund more projects at small amounts – in order to spread resources as widely as possible across the state. Reviewers felt that even a small amount of funding could be impactful for each applicant. Geographical areas with particularly limited access to meat processing services received additional consideration and funds for top-scoring projects. Within the top-scoring projects, those that will increase small and direct-marketing farms’ access to USDA-inspected harvest received a higher amount of funding relative to other top-scoring projects. WSDA awarded 36 projects in this category. In the Large Project category, the approach was to fund a small number of the highest-scoring projects at an amount that will allow them to significantly expand capacity and make a notable impact on small farms’ access to USDA-inspected processing services. Geographic impact across the state was also considered. WSDA awarded 4 projects in this category.
FUNDED PROJECTS: 40 projects were awarded across 26 counties and all regions of the state, including:
36 “small projects” supporting capacity among on-farm slaughterers, custom-exempt processors, poultry processors, new processors, halal processing, and a few small-scale USDA projects. Awards ranged from $20,000 to $150,000, averaging $50,000 per awardee.
4 “large projects” to significant and rapidly expand access to USDA-inspected slaughter and butcher services for farms across the state. Awards ranged from $165,000 to $630,000, and as a whole are projected to expand USDA-inspected services to small farms by more than 10,000 animals harvested/processed per year, including beef, lamb, goat, and pork.
WSDA is happy to answer questions applicants may have about the award process, applications, or awarded projects. Please reach out to Regional Markets Program staff Alyssa Jumars: alyssa.jumars@agr.wa.gov or 206-743-4169
GRANT OVERVIEW
This grant was open to entities with projects to offer increased availability of meat or poultry slaughter or processing services needed by direct-marketing farms and ranches. The grant makes investments that expand capacity, or increase efficiency, food safety, waste management, humane livestock handling or workforce capability in small to mid-scale meat processing operations. There are two categories of funded projects:
Eligible costs include equipment, facility improvements, planning, and workforce development costs. Eligible applicants were firms, owned and operated in Washington with 75 employees or fewer that are offering or developing meat or poultry slaughter or processing services for small and midsize direct-marketing farmers and ranchers in Washington. Non-profit or government entities that directly provide, or enable access to, meat and poultry processing services or equipment for Washington livestock producers were also eligible.
| Small Projects | up to $150,000 |
| Large Projects | $150,000 to $750,000 |
Resources
Additional informational resources for farmers, ranchers and processors on regulations for meat processing and marketing include:
- WSDA Greenbook: Fact Sheet 27: Selling Beef, Pork, Lamb, Goat and Other meat. [PDF]
- WSDA Greenbook: Fact Sheet 46: Selling Poultry [PDF]
- WA Meat Up is a collaborative resource for all small businesses along the meat value chain in Washington State.
- NMPAN provides extensive resources for small and mid-scale meat processors.
- May 2018 FSIS Guideline for Determining Whether a Livestock Slaughter or Processing Firm is Exempt from the Inspection Requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act [PDF]
- The AskFSIS help desk responds quickly to written to inquiries about USDA regulations.