The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for grants to help eligible meat and poultry processors expand their capacity. The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) underscores efforts to fortify the American Beef Industry, encourage competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector, and help improve supply chain resiliency.
USDA is making $60 million in grants available through Phase 4 of MPPEP. The primary purpose of Phase 4 is to support the American Beef Industry by diversifying the meat and poultry supply chain and opening local market opportunities.
Eligible applicants include for‐profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, producer-owned cooperatives, tribes, and tribal entities. Privately-owned entities must be independently owned and operated, and all entities must be domestically owned. Additionally, the applicant’s processing facility must be physically located and operating in the United States or its territories. The applicant’s facility must primarily process cattle in order for the project to be eligible for the program, however, funds or equipment may be used for processing meat and poultry at the facility.
Available funding will be divided equally into two separate competitions: Very Small Processors and Small Processors; and Intermediate Processors. For definitions, see Section 1.3 of the MPPEP Phase 4 Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Two types of applications will be accepted for each of the funding competitions:
1. Processing Expansion Projects. Awards will range from $50,000 to $2 million to support a range of activities to increase and diversify processing capacity of American meat and poultry, including equipment-only purchases over $250,000, and necessary improvements, upgrades, renovations or retrofits to an existing facility needed to install the equipment. A match requirement of 50% of the project cost is required for Processing Expansion Projects.
2. Simplified Equipment-Only Projects. Awards will range from $10,000 to $250,000 for projects that only request the cost of equipment and do not include renovation, labor, installation, or certification costs. A match requirement of 25% of the project cost is required for Simplified Equipment-Only Projects.
Electronic applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. on August 7, 2026. Details on eligibility and requirements are available on Grants.gov or by visiting the MPPEP website.
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