Grants to USA Nonprofits, For-Profits, Tribes, and Agencies to Improve Livestock and Meat Production

Local Meat Capacity Grant (Local MCap)

Agency

Federal

GrantWatch ID#

209206

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

CFDA Number: 10.189

Funding or PIN Number: USDA-AMS-TM-LMCG-G-23-0017

Geographic Focus

All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);

Important Dates

Deadline: 07/19/23 11:59 PM EST

Grant Description

Grants to USA and territories nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, tribes, and government agencies to improve livestock and meat production. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take up to several weeks to complete. Applicants may apply for one of two categories: processing expansion grants and simplified equipment-only grants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Local Meat Capacity Grants (Local MCap). This program supports independently owned meat and poultry processing businesses with funds to provide more and better processing options for local livestock producers by modernizing, increasing, diversifying and decentralizing meat and poultry processing capacity, including support for rendering.

AMS will prioritize applications from applicants that engage with underserved producers. AMS also encourages applications that support smaller farms and ranches in the region, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities. For grants intending to serve these entities, applicants should engage and involve those individuals and groups when developing project applications.

USDA promotes climate-resilient landscapes and rural economic systems, including tools to support agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities. AMS encourages applicants to consider including goals and activities related to mitigating or adapting to climate change in their project’s design and implementation.

This program is also aligned with efforts to:

Ensure equitable access to USDA programs and benefits from USDA-funded projects and support the policies of Executive Order 13985 (Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government).
Contribute to the resilience of the food and agricultural supply chains through support for diversified, value-added agriculture and support the policies of Executive Order 14017 (Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains).
Promote competition in the food system and support the policies of Executive Order 14036 (Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy).
Implement the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act.

For examples of eligible activities, see the following link: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/2023_LMCG_RFA.pdf#page=8

For information on funding priorities and project examples, see: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/2023_LMCG_RFA.pdf#page=9

Recipient

Eligibility

City or township governments
County governments
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Small businesses
State governments

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants for Local MCap grants include business entities (regardless of legal structure) engaged in meat and poultry processing, including rendering animal carcasses or byproducts. Eligible entities include Tribes and Tribal Entities, for-profit entities, non-profit entities, and State or local government entities. Private entities must be independently owned and operated, and all applicants must be domestically owned. Additionally, applicants’ facilities must be physically located within the 50 States of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Eligible entities must be existing operations and must process or plan to process one or more species subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) or the Poultry Product Inspection Act (PPIA) and possess or plan to obtain a Federal Grant of Inspection, a grant of inspection under the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, or a State meat and poultry inspection program with standards at least equal to Federal inspection at the time of application. Plants processing non-amenable species under voluntary FSIS or State inspection are also eligible to apply for funding. For the purposes of this grant, an existing operation can include an entity who is restarting an existing facility (e.g., reopening a plant with a new owner or restarting a temporarily closed business).

Ineligible

Applicants that are nationally dominant in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing are ineligible; for the purpose of this RFA, nationally dominant is characterized as holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity that holds the fourth largest share of the market for any of the following species: beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing.

Entities not eligible for funding:
1. Meat and poultry processing entities that are custom-exempt or otherwise uninspected with no plans to operate under Federal inspection or State equivalent inspection.
2. Meat and poultry processing entities that are exclusively for non-commercial use.
3. Applicants that hold a market share greater than or equal to the entity that holds the fourth largest share of that market for any of the following species: beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing.
4. Multiple applications from separate applicant entities with identical or greater than 75 percent common ownership, or from a parent, subsidiary or affiliated organization (with ‘‘affiliation’’ defined by Small Business Administration regulation 13 CFR 121.103, or successor regulation) are not permitted.

Projects are not eligible for funding if the proposed activities include:
• New construction and/or structural changes to an existing building/facility resulting in a square foot expansion or changes to the building’s floor, foundation, and exterior or load bearing walls.
• Routine maintenance and repair of an organization’s buildings and operational facilities.
• Purchasing land, buildings, or facilities, or any interest therein.
• Paying ongoing staffing or operational costs not specifically tied to the proposed expansion project.
• Expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any Federal, State, or local government funding.
• Activities already funded by another Federal award program.

Pre-Application Information

Applications must be received on or before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on July 19, 2023, through Grants.gov. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered for funding.

Grant recipients are required to contribute 50% of the total proposed project cost as a match to Federal funding. This applies to all applicants except those who qualify for the reduced match.

For grant recipients that are Historically Underserved Farmers or Ranchers or for other businesses that qualify under the Small Business Administration (SBA) categories of Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, and Veteran-Owned Small Business, the match requirement is reduced to 25% of the total proposed project cost as a match to the Federal funding.

To do business with the Federal Government and to submit your application electronically using Grants.gov, you must—
- Have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
- Be registered in SAM.gov, the Government's primary registrant database;
- Provide your UEI number and TIN on your application; and
- Maintain an active SAM.gov registration with current information throughout the application review period and, if you are awarded a grant, during the project period.

Timeline:
- Submitting your application. The AMS Deadline to receive final application and all supporting materials through Grants.Gov July 19, 2023 – 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
- Obtaining Your Organization’s UEI Number (if you do not already have one): 7-10 business days
- Establishing an Active SAM.gov Account (if you do not already have one): 7-10 business days
- Obtaining a TIN/EIN (if you do not already have one): Up to 2 weeks
- Creating your Grants.gov profile and registering your Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) authorization: Up to 2 weeks

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=347620

For a list of relevant application documents, see the Package tab (click Preview) on the link listed above.

How to Apply: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/localmcap/apply

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$75,000,000

Number of Grants

100

Estimated Size of Grant

Processing Expansion Projects:
- Minimum Award: $100,000
- Maximum Award: $5,000,000

Simplified Equipment-Only Projects
- Minimum Award: $10,000
- Maximum Award: $250,000

Term of Contract

Anticipated Started Date: 11/30/2023
Processing Expansion Projects Duration: 36 months
Simplified Equipment-Only Projects Duration: 24 months

Contact Information

After closely reviewing the RFA in its entirety, applicants and other interested parties are encouraged to contact the Local MCap staff by e-mail with questions about the grant program at
LocalMCap@usda.gov.

Grants to USA Nonprofits, For-Profits, Tribes, and Agencies to Improve Livestock and Meat Production

Local Meat Capacity Grant (Local MCap)

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