WYOMING, Mich. - One of the largest producers of turkeys in the nation will use a $1.5 million USDA grant to try and double its capacity.

The funds are part of a $12 million investment by USDA to help independent meat and poultry processors in Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota expand production.

Brandon Fewins, State Director for USDA Rural Development in Michigan, said the money reflects USDA’s commitment to assist in providing abundant, affordable food while investing in communities where it’s produced.

“By adding to local capacity and shortening the supply chain, we are keeping food dollars close to home, reducing transportation costs and boosting Michigan agriculture,” he said.

Michigan Turkey Producers will use its share of the dollars to position itself for processing as many as 10 million turkeys annually.

Brian Boerigter, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, said the grant will offset about 20-percent of the total cost of the investment in strictly infrastructure. 

There’s enough current space to double capacity without having to add on to the plant or move into a larger facility. 

He said hot water capacity is being increased to be able to process more than the 5.5 million turkeys now handled by the company.

A new on-site waste water treatment facility will go in to remove from its waste stream additional solids created from processing more turkeys before the water moves on to the municipal treatment plant.

Eventually, Boerigter said he expects a return from that investment by not having to pay the higher expense the city would charge for taking out the extra solids.

The grant will also go toward purchasing more refrigerated trailers at the plant in Wyoming.

More than 70,000 people live in the city about ten miles from Grand Rapids.

Michigan Turkey Producers is one of the community’s largest municipal waste water customers.

According to USDA, the expansion also allows Michigan Turkey Producers to provide back-up for other facilities of similar size in neighboring states.

Increased production is the goal but still dependent on consumer demand and ability to staff a second shift that would have to be created.

Automation was added in recent years to help overcome labor shortages and prepare to ramp up production.

“This grant really helped provide some of the infrastructure that lays the ground work for the potential to allow us to get there down the road,” he said.

The cooperative, which is the 10th leading turkey producer in the U.S., was started in 1998 by 15 growers looking for a way to bring their birds to market locally.

Originally, the company operated in the commodity market then moved into the value added market by opening a cooking plant in 2006.

Boerigter said four pound oven roasted turkey breast mostly rolls out of the plant for supermarket delis to slice for orders from their customers.

What’s left from each turkey is sold to other companies such as processors for making things like sausage. 

Ever since the cooking plant was built, ready-to-eat products have become what the company described as the “bread and butter of our business.”

Michigan Turkey Producers also packs for over 60 local and national brands distributed worldwide in restaurants and supermarkets, according to the company.

According to USDA, the state in 2021 was 11th for turkey production in the U.S. with 5.1 million birds raised.

In comparison, Indiana that year was fourth at 20.5 million turkeys.

Minnesota led the nation with 40.5 million turkeys produced in 2021 followed by North Carolina at 30 million and Arkansas with 27 million.

International Food Solutions, Inc. was the recipient of the $9.5 million grant in Ohio to redevelop and expand a vacant building in Cleveland into a plant with capacity to process 60 million pounds of poultry.

According to USDA, the expansion projected to create more than 200 new jobs at the company will include cold and dry storage along with two processing lines.

International Food Solutions makes Asian and Latin meals that are frozen and sold to K-12 schools, colleges, restaurants, casinos and hospitals, according to the company’s website.

Currently, USDA said the company sells meals to 5,300 K-12 public schools.

In Minnesota, the remainder of the funds was awarded to Benson + Turner Foods, Inc. to build a close to 7,000 square foot cattle and hog processing plant near Waubun.

The facility will use locally grown livestock and create new opportunities for producers to market their products by having USDA certified processed meat.