DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig recently announced the launch of the Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant Program, encouraging small-scale meat processors and custom lockers to submit proposals to expand meat processing capacity within the state.

Administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, this grant is part of Choose Iowa, the state’s branding and marketing program designed to identify and promote Iowa-grown, -raised and -made agricultural products, he said.

“Iowa’s small-scale meat processors and custom lockers are important to our livestock industry, and the vitality of our rural communities,” Naig said in a Feb. 3 media statement. “Through our new Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant Program, we are helping these small businesses upgrade and expand their processing capacity to better serve our farmers, and ensure consumers have more fresh and local options.”

The department said the new program replaces a previous program, created in 2021, that was administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The Legislature authorized this new Choose Iowa grant program during the 2024 legislative session, and allocated nearly $250,000 for the first year.

The department added proposed projects should support job creation and expanding meat processing capacity within Iowa. Grants are intended for smaller-scale facilities, and awarded projects should create processing, storage and meat transportation efficiencies.

Eligible projects, for example, may include the purchase and installation of equipment used in the processing or storage of meat products, including refrigerators, freezers, meat processing equipment, packaging equipment and mobile harvest units, the department said.

Shelly Tiefenthaler, Iowa Meat Processors Association president and co-owner of Tiefenthaler Custom Meats in Holstein, Iowa, said grant dollars may also be used to restructure existing facilities to increase efficiency, or aid in the construction of a new or expanded facility.

“The Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation grant is essential for upholding the tradition of butchery and empowering small, independent businesses to flourish,” she said. “It also plays a key role in supporting local food systems, and encouraging sustainability within the meat industry.”

The department said grant awardees are eligible to receive up to $100,000. Applicants must provide at least a one-to-one financial match. Grant funds are paid out as a reimbursement after the project is completed. The project cannot be in progress before a grant is awarded, and must be able to be completed within 12 months.

The Iowa Meat Processors Association recently held its annual meeting in Ames, and the Choose Iowa team was there signing up lockers and meat processors to be members, Megan Baker, Iowa Meat Processors Association executive director in Des Moines, told Farm World.

She said Iowa Deputy Agriculture Secretary Grant Menke, one of the scheduled meeting’s speakers, discussed the Choose Iowa membership program, and the Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant Program.

“Deputy Secretary Menke highlighted some great research from the USDA and Iowa State University Extension showing Iowans’ growing interest in buying local and purchasing directly from Iowa farms,” Baker said.

“Meat processors are a key part of this supply chain, harvesting, cutting, processing, and packaging meat either for individual consumers who have raised their own animals, or for sale at local lockers and even the large chain grocers operating across the state,” she said.

“Membership in the Iowa Meat Processors Association and the Choose Iowa program are great ways for Iowa’s meat processors and lockers to promote their services and products directly to the 75 percent of consumers who prefer to buy local,” she added.

She said, “The USDA released its Census of Ag report, which is a once-every-five-years deep dive into the state of U.S. agriculture. Among the thousands and thousands of data points in this report, here are a couple that I found most interesting.

“First, direct-to-consumer sales are way up,” she added. “In Iowa in 2022, the 2,427 Iowa farms that sold agricultural products directly to consumers had sales of $30.1 million, which is up 51 percent since 2017. Similarly, direct-to-retail sales were also way up, with 957 farmers selling over $127 million worth of products in 2022, an astounding 700 percent increase over 2017.”

She said, “The funds available through this grant program will allow for increased processing capacity, new jobs, and more Iowa-made products on grocers’ shelves.

“This support is essential to preserving the tradition of butchery, while helping small, independent lockers and processors compete with large meat processing businesses,” she said. “The Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant Program is a clear signal of Iowa’s commitment to local food systems and supports a more sustainable meat industry for all Iowans.”

The department said final applications should be submitted through the Choose Iowa website by 12 p.m. March 31. Grant recipients will be announced in May 2025, and projects must be completed between May 2025 and June 2026.

Regan Herr, Indiana State Department of Agriculture director of communications, told Farm World, when asked if Indiana had a similar grant program, “The only thing close to that is our Indiana Grown program, and we do have different butchers and meat processors as members. They are eligible for grants alongside our general membership. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything specific for meat processors at this time.”