meat processing

The Butcher Block Act, which supporters say will boost U.S. meat processing capacity, won bipartisan support from the House Ag panel last week. The legislation is in contrast to the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act, which was fiercely contested, advancing only along partisan lines ...

USDA recently launched the Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program to assist meat and poultry grant applications and projects funded by grants. Processors and applicants involved with the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant Program and the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program can now access the technical assistance ...

A deadline extension has been granted for applications for the USDA's Meats & Poultry Processing Expansion program. " program uses $150-million in funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act and will help provide more and better processing options to producers as soon as possible," said Rural Develop Rural Business Cooperative Service Administrator Karama Neal. ...

Last week, the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced the winners of the Local Meat Processing Capacity Grants. The Department says the pandemic made it clear that there is a need for more meat processing services for small farms and ranches in Washington ...

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service this week removed mandatory mask requirements at federally inspected meat processing facilities. As of March 1st, FSIS Notice 34-21 requiring masks was rescinded. FSIS-regulated establishments are no longer subject to suspension or withdrawal of inspection services for failure to require their employees to wear masks when FSIS inspection program personne

As Don Schiefelbein steps into his new role as National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president, he acknowledges there is no shortages of obstacles to navigate for the industry. Possibly the most talked-about topic from last year was the state of the cattle markets. Alt ...

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is now accepting grant applications to help small and medium-sized meat processors. The WSDA’s Hector Castro says Local Meat Processing Capacity Grants are designed to help operators across the state. ...

Processing capacity in meat production is indeed needed to meet current demand and alleviate supply chain issues. Recently, construction on processing plants were announced nation wide.   "The start, where we were already starting," said Lee Reichmuth board member at the U.S. Cattle ...

Meat companies and union officials tell Reuters that rising COVID-19 infections among workers are forcing meat plants to slow production and the government to replace slaughter inspectors. Meatpacking was an early epicenter of COVID in 2020 and is now the latest sector to be disrupted by the Omicron variant ...

What needs to happen to process more cattle, not only to remove the existing backlog, but also ensure growing demand is met domestically and internationally? Cameron Mulrony, Executive Vice President of the Idaho Cattle Association, said it’s not just about hook space, but also finding people to work in those processing plants. ...