Grants Approved for 7 Michigan Meat, Poultry Processors

Nov 30, 2021

Nearly $1.4 million in federal funding has been approved to help Michigan’s meat and poultry processors recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and expand their processing capacity.

The funding for seven companies is from an Agriculture Department grant program. The grants range from $186,670 to $200,000.

U.P. companies receiving them are Sommers Sausage Shop in Crystal Falls and Love Meats, Inc. in Rudyard.

The businesses can use the funding to cover costs for expanding existing facilities, modernizing processing equipment, and meeting packaging, labeling and food safety requirements.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.