Description
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD) Rural Business‐Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), requests applications for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program—Phase 2 (MPPEP). MPPEP is authorized under Section 1001(b)(4) of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which provides funding to make “loans and grants and provide other assistance to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.” Pursuant to this authority, USDA is making grant funding available to meat and poultry processors for new facilities and for the renovation and expansion of existing facilities. This will promote competition and give more and better options to producers by increasing meat and poultry processing capacity. Grants to meat and poultry processors have been delivered in two phases. This RFA is for MPPEP Phase 2; a separate RFA was issued in 2022 for MPPEP Phase I. The Agency has entered into a cooperative agreement (the “Cooperative Agreement”) with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund (the “Cooperator”) to assist the Agency with the administration of the Program, including but not limited to: working with the Agency on the selection of program awards; the management and disbursement of grant funds; the servicing of grant awards; the monitoring and tracking of projects, including conducting site visits; and will perform other related matters in connection with the administration of the Program. The Agency will remain responsible for program outreach, applicant eligibility determinations, and the scoring of program applications. Pursuant to the Cooperative Agreement, the Agency has obligated funds in the amount of $123 million to the Cooperator to be made available for program applicants. The maximum award is $10 million or 30 percent of total project costs, whichever is less. The minimum award is $250,000. A cost share of 70 percent of the total project cost is required. Applicants will be required to identify sources and amounts to make up the 70 percent cost share in the application. RBCS will award competitive grants to eligible applicants that submit high quality proposals that meet the purpose and requirements of this program. This announcement provides eligibility criteria for applicants and projects, details on cost share requirements, and the forms and instructions required to apply for an award. Eligible applicants include Tribes and tribal entities, for‐profit and nonprofit entities, producer-owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, State or local government entities, and other business types (regardless of legal structure). Applicants must engage or propose to engage in either slaughter or slaughter and further processing with plans to operate under USDA or state‐equivalent inspection. Private entities must be independently owned and operated, and all entities must be domestically owned. Additionally, applicants’ meat and poultry processing facilities must be physically located and operated in the United States (U.S.) or its territories. Applicants that are nationally dominant in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing are ineligible; for the purpose of this RFA, 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. Eligible projects must process meat and poultry for human consumption. The Agency may also consider geography, operation size, species, ownership structure, business model, underserved communities, and climate and environmental impacts to maximize diversity among awards. USDA is offering technical assistance to help applicants prepare grant applications.