About 90 percent of the establishments Food Safety and Inspection Service regulates are small or very small. The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the Small Processors Action Plan in June 2026 and USDA Rural Development also opened a fourth round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program with $60 million to expand processing capacity, with eligibility limited to facilities that primarily process cattle.
USDA FSIS Administrator Dr. Justin Ransom, who is a Colorado State University graduate, was back in Colorado visiting his alma mater and meat plants in Pierce, Windsor and Greeley. Ransom was visiting with processors about their eligibility for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program and gathering feedback about the recent announcement of the Small Processors Action Plan.
“All of the programs specific to the Small Plant Action Plan are really about how can we support small and very small establishments as they’re trying to grow their business and they’re trying to participate in the current environment and there’s a number of things we put out there,” Ransom said. “Everything from trying to make it easier to work with the regulators by giving them quick access to appeal decisions enforced by regulators to offering 75% off overtime and holiday pay for very small and 30% off for small. We’re trying to give them incentives to make it easier for them to be more competitive in these local markets and also offering up new opportunities for them to be able to take advantage of.”
“I really think small processors are trying to figure out how they participate,” he said. “There are a number of things happening. The stand-up program is really a state-based program where the USDA is going to be providing $45 million for states to stand up state meat and poultry inspection programs within the state. Those states that already have those programs, we’re going to be giving them resources to be able to stand-up cooperative interstate shipping.”…