Seven Texas businesses were awarded funds through the latest round of grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced an additional $21.9 million of funding to 111 grant projects through the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program (MPIRG), bringing total funding to $54.6 million.

Funds were awarded to projects in Texas and 36 other states.

The funding will help strengthen and develop new market opportunities for meat and poultry processors throughout the United States.

“The Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants will help meat and poultry processors make necessary facility improvements, expand their businesses and strengthen the nation’s food supply chain,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said. “These grants are one part of USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives and will contribute to our efforts to transform our food system.”

The Texas grant recipients include:

  • David Zuazua – $200,000
    • Grant funds will help expand Alamo Sun Dried Beef and make necessary improvements to acquire the Federal Grant of Inspection for the meat processing plant.
  • Clint and Sons Freeman Brothers- $200,000
    • Through the grant, Clint and Sons Freeman Brothers will upgrade facility elements, cold story and processing equipment to promote inspection readiness and local meat opportunities for consumers and farmers in Texas.
  • Groholski Grocery & Market – $200,000
    • With these funds, Groholski Grocery & Market will make facility upgrades and become a Cooperative Interstate Shipment-inspected facility.
  • Hill Country Smoked Meats, LLC – $200,000
    • Grant funds will assist Hill Country Smoked Meats, LLC in modernizing older areas of the facility, conforming to Food Safety and Inspection Service standards and expanding new markets.
  • Dyess Processing, LLC – $199,081
    • Funds will help Dyess Processing, LLC expand and increase the company’s ability to process more beef, deer and bison meat and become a local distributor to retail markets.
  • B&C Farm LLC – $199,583
    • The company will use grant funds to improve the slaughter area of the facility and upgrade equipment to meet the requirements of becoming a USDA-inspected facility.
  • Rail 19 – $200,000
    • Using the grant funds, Rail 19 plans to advance accessibility to the facility, upgrade plant security and improve packaging and labeling systems, as well as become a USDA-inspected slaughter and processing facility.

Click here to see the complete list of funded projects.

In 2021, there were five grant recipients from Texas.

“USDA continues to build capacity and increase economic opportunity for small and mid-sized meat and poultry producers across the country,” Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt said.

Facility improvements and expansions funded through MPIRG will help processors obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection or qualify for a state’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. Achieving a Federal Grant of Inspection or operating under a Cooperative Interstate Shipment program allows meat and poultry processors to ship products across state lines, develop new markets, increase capacity and better meet consumer and producer demand along the supply chain.

MPIRG recipients and other eligible participants, especially small and underserved stakeholders, in USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain initiatives are encouraged to take advantage of the broad technical assistance offered through the Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA).

AMS has cooperative agreements with six organizations to form the MPPTA network, which has already provided valuable assistance to over 300 businesses and organizations across the U.S. and its territories since its launch earlier this year.

For more information about MPPTA and the organizations involved, and to initiate a request for assistance, visit AMS’ MPPTA webpage.

Additional information on MPIRG can be found on AMS’ MPIRG webpage.