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Nebraska Entrepreneurs Receive USDA Rural Development Funds for Meat Supply Chain Expansion

Name
Kate Bolz
Phone
City
Lincoln
Release Date

Jan. 5, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Nebraska State Director Kate Bolz announced today that two Nebraska small businesses will receive funds to expand the meat supply chain through the Value Added Producer Grant Program.

“Oak Barn Beef and Classen Land and Cattle are family businesses investing in the future of Nebraska agriculture. We are proud to support their efforts to expand the nation’s meat supply chain” said Bolz. Value Added Producer Grants help businesses process and market new products.

Awards made in Nebraska were: Oak Barn Beef, $249,965, West Point, NE, to expand processing, marketing, and distribution of direct-to-consumer beef cuts. Classen Land and Cattle, $49,699, Fullerton, NE, to expand processing, marketing, and distribution of direct-to-customer beef cuts.

The projects are a part of a larger announcement made today by Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $9.6 million across the country and taking several other steps to help farmers, ranchers, processors and rural businesses diversify the nation’s meat supply. “USDA is putting the needs of farmers, ranchers and consumers at the forefront of the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to strengthen the resiliency of America’s food supply chain while promoting competition,” Vilsack said. “USDA has undertaken a Department-wide approach to coordinate ways to deliver more opportunities and fairer prices for producers, to give people access to healthier foods, eliminate bottlenecks in the food supply chain and ultimately lower prices for consumers.”

The Department is awarding 23 Value Added Producer Grant program grants totaling $3.9 million to help producer-owned companies process and market new products. USDA is also providing guarantees for a total of $5.7 million in loans to two companies through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program using American Rescue Plan funding. This program supports new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling and distribution.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans, grants and loan guarantees to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov . To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page . ### USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.