Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program

The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) provides grants to help eligible processors expand their capacity. USDA Rural Development designed the MPPEP to encourage competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector, and to help improve supply chain resiliency.

Eligible applicants for MPPEP-4 include entities that are currently engaged in the Primary Processing of cattle for commercial markets or toll process and have been in business for at least one year. Eligible applicants include For-Profit Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations, Producer-owned cooperatives, Tribes, and Tribal Entities. Privately-owned entities must be Independently Owned and Operated, and all applicants must be Domestically Owned. Additionally, an applicant's Facility must be physically located and operating in a State.

Eligible applicants must be currently operating under a FSIS grant of inspection, grant of inspection under a Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, or a State Meat and Poultry inspection program with standards at least equal to Federal inspection.

Applicants must meet the definition of a Very Small Processor, a Small Processor, or an Intermediate Processor. Applicants that are nationally dominant in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing are ineligible; for the purpose of this NOFO, nationally dominant is characterized as holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity that holds the fourth largest share of the market for beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing.

Ineligible applicants include entities that have an active Federal Award through MPPEP Phase 1, MPPEP Phase 2, MPPEP Phase 3, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Local Meat Capacity Grants program, or USDA AMS Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant program. An active award means that the Period of Performance has not ended.

Cost share is required. Applicants will be required to identify sources and amounts that will make up the required cost share in the application and will need to verify cost share funding prior to final award approval.

Grant funding in the amount of $60 million is available under this Program. Funding will be divided equally into two separate competitions: one for Very Small Processors and Small Processors, and one for Intermediate Processors. Each competition will have its own ranking and award process.

Two types of applications for each of the funding competitions will be accepted:

1. Processing Expansion Projects. Awards will range from $50,000 to $2 million to support a range of activities to increase and diversify processing capacity of American Meat and Poultry, including Equipment-only purchases over $250,000, and necessary improvements, upgrades, renovations or retrofits to an existing Facility needed to install the Equipment. A match requirement of 50 percent of the Project Cost is required for Processing Expansion Projects.

2. Simplified Equipment-Only Projects. Awards will range from $10,000 to $250,000 for projects that only request the cost of Equipment and do not include renovation, labor, installation, or certification costs. A match requirement of 25 percent of the Project Cost is required for Simplified Equipment-Only Projects.

All MPPEP applications must be filed through www.Grants.gov.

Please review the Application Checklist to ensure a complete MPPEP application is filed. Please review the following documents referenced in the application checklist:

• Application Template

• Environmental Checklist

• Feasibility Study Guide

All applicant entities must have a current and active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to file an MPPEP application. Register for SAM here.

• Applicant Self-Screening Tool