USDA Invests $2.4M to Expand Montana Meat Processing Capacity, Strengthen Competition and Support Ranchers

(Bozeman, Mont., Nov. 4, 2026) - Recently, Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced that processors in 40 states would receive $57 million through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), this includes $2.4 million for seven Montana processors to expand their capacity and create new and better markets.

"These investments show President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Rollins' commitment to expanding opportunity for America's farmers, ranchers, and their rural hometowns," said USDA Rural Development Montana State Director Bill Warden. "At a time when more consumers want to know where their food comes from, these investments will help make better connections between Montana producers and customers seeking locally raised and locally processed meat."

In Montana, the following processors have received MPPEP grants:

• Bear Paw Meats, LLC in Blaine County is awarded a $111,543 grant to upgrade processing systems and purchase equipment. These upgrades will improve temperature control, food safety compliance, product consistency, and workflow efficiency, while supporting increased harvest capacity, expanded production of jerky, snack sticks, bacon, and sausages, and add goat processing to better serve regional producers.
• Big Sky Processing LLC in Fergus County is using a $127,500 grant to buy equipment to expand production capacity and increase access to retail and wholesale markets. The project will eliminate a key packaging bottleneck, allowing the USDA-inspected facility to produce professionally packaged, retail-ready beef, pork, lamb, and value-added products more efficiently.
• Glacier Processing Cooperative in Flathead County will use a $1,306,822 grant to upgrade its facility and equipment to serve producers, including purchasing new saws and cutting equipment, rollstock machine, and smokehouse, and to make facility improvements. Glacier Processing Cooperative is a new rancher cooperative in western Montana formed to ensure local fee-for-service processing continues to be available to nearby producers. By processing and selling beef locally ranchers can earn roughly twice what they would otherwise make by selling live animals at auction.
• Lolo Locker LLC in Missoula County will use a $173,338 grant to modernize critical equipment to improve worker safety, humane animal handling, product consistency, and processing capacity. Upgrades will expand processing services for independent livestock producers and customers throughout western Montana.
• Prairie Meats, LLC in Liberty County will use a $124,832 grant to expand processing capacity, increase value-added production, and create new market opportunities for Montana livestock producers. Grant funds will be used to purchase a dehydrator, mixer/grinder, digester, and an additional freezer. This equipment will support production and expand cold storage. The project will help Prairie Meats increase cattle and hog processing volumes, reduce waste disposal costs, and improve profitability for local ranchers through higher-value products and expanded sales channels.
• S Ranch Meats in Big Horn County is awarded a $250,000 grant to purchase a system and equipment to modernize portion cutting and product labeling. The project will automate labor-intensive actions, improve worker safety, increase processing efficiency, and expand custom processing capacity for local livestock producers. The equipment will enable consistent retail and wholesale products, barcode-level traceability, and access to new food service and wholesale markets while increasing toll-processing capacity, supporting the growing demand for USDA-inspected beef processing in south-central Montana.
• Superior Meats, Inc. in Mineral County is using a $305,424 grant to purchase a state-of-the-art smokehouse to enhance efficiency, safety, and product quality, and a biodigester to produce a value-added soil amendment product. Superior Meats is an independently owned red meat processor. As a result of this project, Superior Meats expects to increase throughput by approximately 10% and serve more than 100 new producers.

MPPEP 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.

USDA has awarded more than $200 million to independent businesses under the MPPEP program. These projects have created thousands of jobs across the country.

For more information on USDA Rural Development investments in rural America, visit the Rural Data Gateway . The Rural Data Gateway is an online tool that strengthens USDA Rural Development partnerships with rural people, entrepreneurs, government officials and Congress by making Rural Development's investment data accessible to the public. For more information about USDA Rural Development programs, visit www.rd.usda.gov/mt .

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