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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