Pandemic Relief Activities: Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity - Technical Assistance Grants

 

This program establishes technical assistance to support the applicants and awardees of USDA grant programs which focus on expanding domestic meat and poultry processing capacity, as part of a strategy to build a fairer, more competitive, and more resilient U.S. food supply chain.

Active 10.184 Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture B - Project Grants Not applicable. This section provides funding to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to (1) purchase food and agricultural commodities; (2) purchase and distribute agricultural commodities (including fresh produce, dairy, seafood, eggs, and meat) to individuals in need; (3) provide grants and loans for small or midsized food processors or distributors, seafood processing facilities and processing vessels, farmers markets, producers, or other organizations to respond to COVID-19; and (4) provide grants, loans, and other assistance to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency., Title American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Part TITLE I--COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY, Section Subtitle A- Agriculture (Sec. 1001) Eligible entities must be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the geographic area of the United States, including the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Ultimately, the technical assistance provided under these cooperative agreements will benefit the recipients of U.S. Department of Agriculture financing grants for meat and poultry processing expansion and inspection readiness. These may include independent business owners, entrepreneurs, producers, and other groups, such as cooperatives and worker associations. Technical assistance providers must submit proposals detailing the scope(s) of assistance they will offer, their technical approach to providing these services, and their staffing and budgetary needs to operate under a cooperative agreement with USDA. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Potential cooperators will be provided specific instructions by Agricultural Marketing Service to submit their proposals. The first agreements will be established non-competitively with an initial handful of providers (6-8); subsequently, AMS will issue a request for proposals to expand the number of agreements sufficiently to meet the long-term needs of meat and poultry grant applicants and grant-funded projects. USDA-AMS will review each technical assistance proposal received, evaluate the provider's scope, approach, and capabilities, and determine funding based on the findings. AMS also assesses the provider's ability to account for the use of Federal funds and monitor the performance associated with these monies. Contact the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service for application deadlines. There are two timelines for establishing cooperative agreements with meat and poultry technical assistance providers. The first is late February 2022 (specific dates to be announced) to put in place several non-competitive agreements establishing technical assistance for applicants in Phase I of the meat and poultry processing grant program slated for Spring 2022. The timing of the second round of agreements is linked to Phase II of the meat and poultry processing grant program. These agreements will be established through a competitive process with a request for applications issued as early as March 2022 (with specific dates to be announced). From 15 to 30 days. Not applicable. A one-time extension of up to 12 months may be requested by notifying the Federal awarding agency in writing at least 10 calendar days before the end of the period of performance. See 2 CFR 200.308. Not applicable. Funds provided under cooperative agreement may be used to coordinate activities across--and provide direct assistance to--grant program applicants and grant awardees within these technical scopes: federal funding/grant technical assistance; agriculture business development technical assistance; meat and poultry processing technical assistance (including food safety); and supply chain development technical assistance. Performance Reports: Interim Performance Reports are due annually no later than 90 calendar days after each annual performance reporting period end date. The final Performance Report must be submitted no later than 120 calendar days after the performance period end date. Not applicable. Financial management systems and related records, of the grant recipient, and of any other entity involved in the grant, must be sufficiently detailed to prepare reports, trace funds, and demonstrate that fund management complies with Federal statutes, regulations, and these general and other program-specific terms and conditions. Recipients must retain all records relating to the cooperative agreement for a period of three years after the final Federal Financial Report (SF-425) is received by AMS or until final resolution of any audit findings or litigation claims relating to this program. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Length of time assistance is available will coincide with grant awards under USDA’s Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Programs funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (American Rescue Plan). Funding must be spent with the length of time stated in the individual multi-year cooperative agreement. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. None/Not specified. AMS Grants Division
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250 USA
amsgrants@usda.gov
Phone: 2026901300 https://www.usda.gov/meat 12-0408-1-2-605 (Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements or Contracts)) FY 22$10,000,000.00; FY 23 est $15,000,000.00; FY 24 est $0.00; FY 21 - $10,000-$2,000,000 Not applicable. Not applicable.