Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program - Phase 4

The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program - Phase 4 - Fortifying the American Beef Industry is a federal competitive grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business-Cooperative Service under the authority of the American Rescue Plan Act. The program is designed to strengthen and diversify the American beef processing supply chain by increasing processing capacity, supporting local and regional supply chains, and improving market competition. The funding opportunity specifically targets Very Small Processors, Small Processors, and Intermediate Processors engaged in the primary processing of cattle. USDA established this program in response to supply chain disruptions, market concentration, and limited processing capacity that have affected producers and consumers across the country. The program aligns with USDA priorities related to ranching sustainability, expanded market access, processing infrastructure improvements, and domestic demand growth for American beef products. Approximately $60 million in grant funding is available and will be split equally between two separate competitions: one for Very Small and Small Processors and another for Intermediate Processors. Two project tracks are available. Processing Expansion Projects provide awards ranging from $50,000 to $2 million for equipment purchases, facility upgrades, retrofits, renovations, waste management improvements, food safety enhancements, and operational improvements directly related to increasing processing capacity. Simplified Equipment-Only Projects provide awards ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 solely for equipment purchases without associated labor, installation, renovation, or certification costs. Processing Expansion Projects require a 50 percent cost share while Simplified Equipment-Only Projects require a 25 percent cost share. In-kind contributions are not permitted toward match requirements. The program prohibits expenses such as new facility construction, real estate acquisition, indirect costs, subawards, grant writing expenses, and activities involving dominant national processors. Eligible applicants include for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, producer-owned cooperatives, Tribes, and Tribal entities that are domestically owned, independently owned and operated, currently engaged in primary cattle processing for commercial markets or toll processing, and operating under federal or state-equivalent inspection programs. Applicants must have operated for at least one year and must maintain facilities located within a U.S. state or territory. Entities that currently hold active awards from earlier MPPEP phases or certain USDA Agricultural Marketing Service meat processing programs are not eligible. Applicants that hold market share comparable to or larger than the fourth-largest processor in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing are also excluded. Additional ineligible entities include uninspected processors, entities delinquent on federal debt or taxes, suspended or debarred organizations, and applicants with excessive unallowable costs in their project budgets. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using Funding Opportunity Number RD-RBS-26-04-MPPEP and Assistance Listing Number 10.381. The application deadline is August 7, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Applicants must maintain active registrations in SAM.gov and possess a Unique Entity Identifier before submission. Required application materials include SF-424, SF-424B, a project narrative, business plan for Processing Expansion Projects, financial statements and projections, key personnel information, letters of support, and other supporting documentation. The project narrative must address applicant eligibility, project details, work plan, budget categories, performance metrics, labor and safety violations, and responses to merit evaluation criteria. Processing Expansion Project applications may not exceed twenty pages excluding templates and supporting documentation. Applications that fail completeness or eligibility review will not proceed to scoring. The merit review process evaluates applications based on alignment with program objectives, market impact, financial viability, technical feasibility, labor and workforce conditions, community support, and prior assistance history. Processing Expansion Projects are scored out of 100 points across multiple categories including operational constraints, producer benefits, work plan quality, customer demand, financial projections, workforce benefits, and community impact. Simplified Equipment-Only Projects are scored based on program alignment, operational constraints, market development, financial sustainability, operational efficiency, and producer benefits. USDA may additionally award discretionary priority points for factors such as geographic diversity, supply chain strengthening, domestic manufacturing support, energy resilience, agricultural market expansion, and use of Product of the USA labeling standards. Projects must achieve a minimum score of 50 points to be considered for funding. The anticipated award selection date is October 22, 2026. Processing Expansion Projects may have a maximum performance period of 36 months, while Simplified Equipment-Only Projects may extend for up to 24 months. Recipients must execute a Financial Assistance Agreement using USDA Form RD 4280-2 and comply with federal reporting, environmental review, and civil rights requirements. Semi-annual and final financial and performance reports are required, as well as a post-completion processing capacity expansion report one year after project completion. Grant reimbursements may occur either as a single payment after project completion or through periodic reimbursements with final retainage. USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service staff may be contacted at mppep@usda.gov for programmatic questions, while Grants.gov support is available for technical submission assistance. Additional technical assistance for applicants is also available through USDA AMS Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance providers.

Submit applications early to avoid Grants.gov registration delays. Clearly demonstrate processing constraints, producer benefits, customer demand, operational efficiency improvements, and financial viability. Include detailed work plans, strong letters of support, realistic financial projections, and evidence of market demand aligned with review criteria.