USDA Puts $50 Million Behind State Meat Inspection Expansion — What It Could Mean for Pork Producers

Sep 21, 2026

New Stand-Up Program targets one of the barriers to expanding local and regional processing: the cost states face in establishing or growing their own meat inspection systems.

USDA is putting up to $50 million in new funding behind an effort to expand state meat inspection programs, potentially opening additional processing opportunities for livestock producers and small and mid-sized meat processors.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the new Stand-Up Program on September 16. Administered in partnership with USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the initiative will help states establish new Meat and Poultry Inspection programs or expand existing ones.

For pork producers, the announcement is significant because processing capacity isn’t simply a packing-sector issue. Access to inspected slaughter and processing can determine where smaller producers can market pigs, how far animals need to travel and whether locally processed pork can reach customers beyond its immediate market.

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Video: Managing Severe PRRS Outbreaks - Dr. Claire Mtezankuni

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Claire Mtezankuni, Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, discusses the growing severity of PRRS outbreaks in sow farms. She explains how respiratory disease and sow mortality are changing outbreak response, why necropsies and bacterial cultures can guide treatment, and how vaccination, biosecurity, pain management, and clear team communication support recovery and elimination. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Emerging PRRS strains can produce severe reproductive and respiratory disease simultaneously, creating substantial health challenges across sow farms during acute outbreaks.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Claire Mtezankuni / claire-mtezankuni-2529b1b3 is a Swine Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service in Illinois, where her work includes commercial farm veterinary leadership, herd health, disease elimination, and veterinary internship coordination. She holds a DVM from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master of Veterinary Science in Livestock Systems Health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Learn more from Dr. Claire Mtezankuni on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.