WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing more details on its new program, Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers (SPUR), a $500 million initiative designed to support small and mid-sized processors during a period of historically tight cattle supplies.
USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce told RFD News that the program will provide per-head payments to eligible federally inspected processors.
“It’s an opportunity for us to support those small and mid-sized independent processors related to processing — $500 million out of the Commodity Credit Corporation to support this program,” Fordyce said. “It’ll be made on a per-head basis.”
Fordyce said USDA will calculate payments using federal inspection data, and eligible processors will be contacted directly by USDA headquarters as the program moves forward.
“Since we are requiring these plants and the head to qualify to be federally inspected, we can get the dollar — or we can get the head numbers from the Food Safety Inspection Service, who do the inspection — then we’re going to administer it through the Farm Service Agency, but we’re going to do it from here in Washington, D.C.”
