State Sen. Justin Brown Archives

$20 million in grant funding heading to Missouri’s smaller meat and poultry processors

July 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced a $20 million grant program for Missouri meat and poultry processors on Wednesday, saying it will increase food supply chain resilience in the Show-Me State.

Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn briefs Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on July 22, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

The $20 million comes from federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds. Governor Mike Parson and MDA Director Chris Chinn made the announcement. Chinn tells Capitol reporters that the funds will increase livestock and poultry processing capacity.

“During COVID-19, our food supply was tested from farm to fork,” Chinn says. “Farmers and ranchers saw tight livestock supplies on their farms, while consumers saw their choices of certain cuts of meat shrink or go away.”

Chinn says the cost of meat increased in some cases.

The governor says the grant program for smaller Missouri meat and poultry processors is for plants with less than 200 employees. Parson says it’s aimed at increasing livestock and poultry processing capacity across the state.

The Legislature approved the bipartisan funding in May, which is aimed at helping the plants address supply chain disruptions.

Director Chinn says every part of our food system has been challenged during COVID-19.

“Examples of eligible expenses include but are not limited to capitol improvements that expand capacity, utility upgrades like cold storage, processing equipment, packaging equipment and more,” says Chinn.

Utility upgrades include water, electric, refrigeration and heat. The application deadline is August 31.

Director Chinn describes the grant program as “a win-win” for farmers and consumers. She tells Missourinet that there are hundreds of eligible facilities around Missouri.

“So we have 180 (plants) that are federal or state-inspected, and we have about 300 that are custom exempt inspected,” Chinn says.

State Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, led the bipartisan legislative effort in May, for the funding.

Beef plant that opened in March in western Missouri now has 175 employees

July 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who serves on the House Agriculture Policy Committee says the newest modern beef processing plant built in the United States now has about 175 employees in western Missouri’s Lone Jack.

The Republic Foods beef facility is located in far western Missouri’s Lone Jack, a town of about 1,000 residents (June 2020 photo courtesy of Rep. Warren Love)

Lone Jack is a small town of about 1,000, and is southeast of Lee’s Summit. It’s located in Jackson County.

State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, tells Missourinet that Republic Foods started operating the plant in March. He says it is processing about 250 head of beef cows per day. Missourinet contacted the company, which confirms the numbers provided by Love.

“These are what you call hamburger cows,” Love says. “They come in, they’re completely deboned, the meat is, then it’s processed into hamburger. They call it lean-trim.”

Love says about 75 percent of the cows are purchased in Missouri.

Love and other state lawmakers toured the plant in June, and were joined by representatives of the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA). Love says the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and Missouri Farm Bureau also participated in the tour.

“I think there were eight legislators, seven of them from the House, all serve on the Ag (House Agriculture Policy) Committee,” says Love. “And then we had one senator, Senator Justin Brown from Rolla.”

Senator Brown co-chairs the Joint Committee on Agriculture.

Love, who’s finishing his eighth and final year in the House because of term limits, is a member of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. He says it’s possible that the Lone Jack plant could receive some of the $20 million in assistance appropriated by the Legislature this year for meat processors dealing with COVID-19.

The $20 million is for plants with less than 200 employees. It’s designed for support, workforce assistance, equipment and capital improvements.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Warren Love, R-Osceola, which was recorded in June 2020:

Lawmakers to hear update on Missouri slaughter facilities and economic impact from COVID-19

May 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

We’ll learn more details next week about the impact of the coronavirus on local slaughter facilities in Missouri.

State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 11, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Joint Committee on Agriculture plans a Thursday morning hearing at the Statehouse in Jefferson City. The committee will meet at 9 a.m.

The committee’s co-chairs are State Rep. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, and State Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla.

Haffner’s office tells Missourinet that the joint committee will hear a general overview about how production lines at slaughter facilities are influenced by COVID-19, and the responses to it. Haffner’s office says State Reps. Dan Shaul, R-Imperial, and Don Rone, R-Portageville, will present the update.

Shaul and Rone plan to discuss the current economic issues that local slaughter facilities are having due to COVID-19 and how that financially impacts Missouri’s cattle industry, according to Haffner’s office.

Shaul also heads the Missouri Grocers Association.

The $35.2 billion operating budget approved by state lawmakers this month contains $20 million for Missouri meat processing facilities, impacted by COVID-19. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says it’s for plants with less than 200 employees, for support, workforce assistance, equipment and capital improvements.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture will also hear testimony on Thursday from Missouri commodity groups and agricultural organizations about their economic impact, specifically their contribution to state and local tax revenues.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) plans to present on Thursday, along with B.J. Tanksley of the Missouri Farm Bureau and Casey Wasser of the Missouri Soybean Association. Dr. Scott Brown of the University of Missouri and Tony Clayton of Clayton Agri-Marketing are also scheduled to present, along with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).