USDA’s Office of Rural Development has announced that the second round of applications for the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program (MPILP) will open on November 1, 2022. MPILP aims to strengthen the financing capacity for independent meat processors, and to create a more resilient, diverse, and secure U.S. food supply chain.
USDA is hosting an informational webinar this Thursday, October 27th, at 2 pm ET to discuss the program’s purpose, applicant eligibility, and the application process. A link to the registration page can be found here.
Intermediaries eligible to apply include cooperatives, private nonprofit corporations, public agencies, and federally recognized Tribes that finance – or plan to finance – the start-up, expansion, or operation of meat and poultry processing. Ultimate recipients include businesses engaged, or proposing to engage, in processing meat or poultry – either directly or through agreements with other entities.
The maximum aggregate grant award is $15 million. The minimum grant award is $500,000. No more than $10 million in MPILP grant funds can be used for any single loan. Applications for MPILP will close on December 31, 2022.
More information regarding the program and its potential uses can be found here.