LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 2, 2026) — U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Kentucky State Director Travis T. Burton and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell today announced four Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grants.

The grants total almost $800,000 and will expand capacity while helping to improve the food supply chain.

“Today’s announcement providing investments in Kentucky meat processors builds on President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers’,” said Burton. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Rollins, USDA is working tirelessly to increase local food options and lower costs for Kentucky families while helping farmers and agricultural producers have a better chance to compete.”

Expanding access to meat processing is important to Kentucky’s cattle producers; Kentucky has the largest beef cow herd east of the Mississippi River.

 “Kentucky farmers raise some of the finest livestock in America, and we want to make sure they have every opportunity to get those products to market,” said Shell. “Expanding local processing capacity means more competition, more options for our producers, and a stronger food supply chain. I appreciate President Trump and Secretary Rollins for making these investments in our farm families.”

The impact of agriculture on Kentucky’s economy cannot be understated.

“Kentucky agriculture is vital to our economy, and our farmers deserve every opportunity to succeed,” said Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06). “These investments will help local businesses grow, expand markets for Kentucky livestock producers, and strengthen our rural communities.”

 Central KY Custom Meats, Inc. will use $59,537 in grant funds to strengthen and expand its USDA-inspected beef processing operation by purchasing a new automatic feed mixer/grinder with Unger system, a patty-forming machine, and a commercial utensil and parts washer. The project will improve grinding efficiency, value-added production, sanitation, and labor productivity while reducing the risk of equipment failures and processing bottlenecks. These investments will increase beef-processing capacity from approximately 18 cattle per week to 23 cattle per week in Year 1 and 26 cattle per week by Year 3, reducing customer wait times and expanding access to USDA-inspected processing services.

Marksbury Farm Foods, LLC will use $250,000 in grant funds to acquire and install a FOSS MeatMaster Flex in-line X-ray process analyzer to improve quality control, food safety verification, and production efficiency in its grinding and further-processing operations. The equipment will provide continuous in-line analysis of product composition and weight while detecting certain foreign materials, reducing reliance on manual sampling, minimizing rework and lean giveaway, and improving process consistency. The project is expected to increase annual further-processing volume by approximately 19.7 percent, strengthen product quality controls, and expand processing capacity for livestock producers and toll-processing customers served by the facility.

Riverview Meat Company LLC will use $237,953 in grant funds to purchase equipment including a vacuum stuffer, double clipper, food processing oven, mixer/grinder, band saw, splitting saw, digital scale, vacuum tumbler, and tenderizer/cuber. This equipment will enable production of bratwursts, linked sausage, hot dogs, bacon, hams, and marinated products, while increasing harvest and processing capacity, reducing downtime, improving product quality, and allowing the company to serve more farmers and consumers throughout Central Kentucky.

Kentucky Meatsmith LLC will use $249,569 in grant funds to strengthen and expand its USDA-inspected meat processing operation by purchasing processing, packaging, sanitation, material-handling, and production management equipment. Grant funds will support the acquisition of processing management software, vacuum packaging equipment, grinders, mixers, tenderizers, a patty-forming machine, bacon slicer, smokehouse, heat tunnel, retail display freezers, sanitation equipment, and handling equipment. These investments will reduce bottlenecks, expand value-added processing capabilities, enhance product quality and consistency, and increase local processing capacity for livestock producers throughout Central and Southern Kentucky.

The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program is managed by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Services and provides grants to help eligible independent processors expand their capacity. USDA Rural Development designed the program to encourage competition and sustainable growth in the United States meat processing sector and improve supply chain resiliency.

Eligible applicants include for‐profit and nonprofit entities, producer-owned cooperatives and corporations, certified benefit corporations, Tribes and Tribal entities, state or local government entities, and other business types (regardless of legal structure). Private entities must be independently owned and operated, and all entities must be domestically owned.

USDA has awarded more than $200 million to independent businesses under the MPPEP program. These projects have created thousands of jobs across the country. Learn more about USDA’s investments to strengthen the meat and poultry supply chain at usda.gov/meat.