Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant

Background
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is offering the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant (MPIRG) to assist meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities with costs to make improvements and plan other activities necessary to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act, or to operate as a State-inspected facility that is compliant with the respective Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program.

Grant Details
The MPIRG supports a range of eligible meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities, including facilities operating under State inspection or those exempt from Federal inspection, in making facility improvements and carrying out other planning activities necessary to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection or to operate as a State-inspected facility that is compliant with the cooperative interstate shipment program under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or Poultry Products Inspection Act. The program focuses on improving meat and poultry slaughter and processing capacity and efficiency, developing new markets, expanding existing markets, maintaining strong inspection and food safety standards, obtaining a larger commercial presence, and increasing access to slaughter/processing facilities for smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, historically underserved producers, veteran producers, and underserved communities.

Eligibility Requirements
Meat or poultry slaughter or processing facilities must be conducting business at the location seeking a GOI or CIS at the time they submit the grant application to be eligible for the program. Facilities must be seeking to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection under the FMIA or PPIA in eligible locations or seeking to operate as a State-inspected facility compliant with the CIS program by the end of the period of performance. Facilities currently exempt from Federal inspection but seeking to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection are also eligible.

Period of Performance
The period of performance for the grant is from September 30, 2022, to September 29, 2025.

Grant Value
Approximately $23.6 million will be available to fund MPIRG projects under this solicitation. The maximum award amount is $200,000. There is no match requirement for FY 2022.

Place of Performance
The grant is available for meat and poultry slaughter and processing facilities operating in eligible locations including the 50 States, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.