The Department of Agriculture is awarding over $120 million to fund six fertilizer production projects in Arkansas, California, Illinois, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and provides funding to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants and more.
In addition, USDA announced $20.2 million in awards to 26 projects through the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) grant program to expand processing capacity within the meat and poultry industry, which adds new jobs to their local communities and provides producers more options to ensure their products get to market.
Fertilizer Production Expansion Program Grants
As part of the announcement, Deputy Secretary Torres Small visited Dramm Corp,, a previous FPEP recipient. Dramm Corp. is using a $776,000 grant to increase its production capacity and expand its network of customers and farmers while reducing their carbon footprint and increasing employee safety. Using fish offal collected from commercial and sport fishermen, Dramm produces a liquid fish fertilizer suitable for organic and traditional farming while keeping millions of pounds of waste out of landfills and fresh waterways.
In total, USDA is awarding over $120 million today to fund six fertilizer production projects in Arkansas, California, Illinois, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Agtegra Cooperative in South Dakota is receiving a $3 million grant to build a new fertilizer manufacturing building and install two storage tanks with a combined capacity of 950,000 gallons. The project will also install a 500,000-gallon storage tank at each of its facilities in McLauglin and Kimball. The project is expected to increase fertilizer production from 26,175 tons to 53,270 tons per year.
Local Meat Capacity Grants
USDA also announced today $20.2 million in awards to 26 projects through the Local Meat Capacity (Local MCap) grant program to expand processing capacity within the meat and poultry industry. This final set of awards through Local MCap is for both Simplified Equipment Only and Processing Expansion project types. Two additional projects (totaling $7.8 million), which have been selected to move forward, are in final review with USDA.
This final set of awards for simplified equipment and processing expansion covers projects in 21 states. Simplified Equipment Only awards fund projects to purchase processing equipment such as meat grinders, stuffers and smokers. Processing Expansion projects increase processing or rendering capacity through activities including facility upgrades, equipment purchases and training.
Montana Premium Processing Cooperative in Hill County, Montana, provides critical tribal slaughter support and regional employment opportunities. Using Local MCap funding, the cooperative will boost production capacity by 225% and invest in new equipment including hoists, vacuum sealers, a bandsaw and steel containers which will enhance both production efficiency and quality control.
Read the full USDA press release here.
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USDA
