Program supports small, midsize beef processors

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers Program that will provide temporary support for eligible beef processing establishments.

Under SPUR, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide up to $500 million in payments to eligible entities to support stronger and more stable market opportunities for American ranchers.

These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency.

Payments are intended to provide financial support to eligible beef processors who have faced increased costs of acquiring cattle for processing due to the abnormally low number of cattle being raised in the United States at this time and other conditions currently impacting the cattle market.

Additional information, including applications, will be provided to eligible entities using contact information that is currently on file with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Entities eligible to receive funding under SPUR must be beef processing establishments under federal inspection, as well as beef processing establishments inspected under the Talmadge-Aiken Cooperative Inspection Program and the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program.

Further, eligible entities must be U.S. owned and cannot be nationally dominant in beef processing or owned by an entity that is. For purposes of SPUR, nationally dominant will be defined as an entity holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity holding the fourth-largest share of the beef processing market.

For decades, the beef processing industry in the United States has been heavily concentrated and today just four companies control nearly 85% of the beef processing market, including two foreign-owned companies.

Ensuring domestic processors can continue operating during this period where the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low is critical to national security and will ensure a strong supply chain once the herd is rebuilt.

This new program also directly supports the USDA Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry and the USDA Small Processors Action Plan by ensuring American ranchers have access to regional processing capacity they rely on to support branded and value-added beef programs, such as the Product of USA label that USDA started promoting earlier this year.

Maintaining this regional processing capacity is also a key part of the Make America Healthy Again movement by ensuring access to high-quality protein in alignment with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans.