Investments are being made into Kentucky’s meat and poultry production industries. On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for rural development Xochitl Torres Small announced over $1.25 million dollars in funding.
In an interview with WEKU, Torres Small said stabilizing the processing of meat in the U.S. will help with the supply chain and even inflation.
“As we know, we’ve seen the prices of food increase and part of the reason is that we don’t have enough places to process our meat. So, USDA is investing funds to help expand options for farmers as well as customers so we can get a better price for meat and quality food,” she said.
The undersecretary said the money is being spread out over various rural development projects. Marksbury Farm Foods, in Lancaster, is receiving nearly $780,000 to expand their slaughter and grind production areas.
Torres Small said currently eight companies control the majority of meat and poultry production.
“So increasing local options means there is more opportunities to look for the type of meat you want at the price that you want. It also increases options for farmers so that we can continue to have resilient farms in places all across Kentucky that will keep a safer food supply in the future.”
The undersecretary also presented grants to communities in eastern Kentucky.
Much of that funding will go towards purchasing equipment for maintaining water and sewer infrastructure.
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