USDA Meat Processing Grants Awarded To Five Kansas Businesses

Five Kansas operations are each receiving $200,000 from USDA through the department’s annual allotment of Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants.

Among the projects, Schenker Family Farms of McCune will use their grant to expand their staging, loading, and cold storage areas in preparation for federal inspection, which would help them sell their specialty foods beyond their current consumer-direct channels.  A similar project is planned for BD Meats of Yoder.  Dieck’s of Clay Center and Circle P Processing of Waterville will both seek to add more processing capacity, thereby helping more local producers market their products.  Finally, Overland Park-based OZ LLC will use its grant to modernize their facilities to not only expand their beef processing capacity, but also transport their product with a larger refrigerated truck.

The five businesses in Kansas are among 111 projects in 37 states that are receiving inspection readiness grants from USDA this year, totaling $21.9 million.