After record-breaking subsidies under former U.S. President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden announced he has more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains, including animal production and meat processing, through the Biden Administration's Build Back Better initiative.
Through a mix of grants, loans and other financing mechanisms, the new effort is designed to strengthen the food system, support food production, improved processing, investments in distribution and aggregation and market opportunities, the United States Department of Agriculture said in a press release.
One initiative aims to address the shortage of small meat processing facilities across the country and the necessary local and regional food system infrastructure needed to support small- and medium-sized meat processing capacity.
The government also announced plans to make livestock pricing more transparent. Farmers have been complaining that the large packing plants and feedlot companies make private deals that are the true price-formers in the marketplace and that it’s not fair.
