USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing $500 million in temporary support to help stabilize our domestic small, independent, and mid-size beef slaughter facilities. These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act.
Eligibility for SPUR Assistance is Limited to Qualifying Federally Inspected Beef Slaughter Facilities. |
The program provides temporary support for small and mid-size beef slaughter facilities under Federal inspection, including establishments under Talmadge-Aiken Cooperative Inspection Program and the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program.
Eligible entities must be U.S. owned and cannot be nationally dominant in beef slaughter (or owned by an entity that is). For SPUR purposes, nationally dominant is an entity holding a market share greater than or equal to the entity holding the fourth-largest share of the beef processing market.
Eligible beef slaughter facilities are required to register with SAM.gov to apply for SPUR.. Registering allows entities to conduct business with the federal government.
Additional information, including applications, has been sent directly to eligible beef slaughter facilities using contact information that is currently on file with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
To protect independent and regional beef slaughter capacity and help processers weather historically high cattle acquisition costs, USDA is providing formula-based payments to eligible entities and individuals to reduce the overall cost burden per head of beef processing.
Payments are intended to provide financial support to eligible beef slaughter facilities who have faced increased costs of acquiring cattle for processing due to the abnormally low number of cattle being raised in the U.S at this time and other conditions currently impacting the cattle market.
The goal of the program is to preserve independent slaughter capacity, maintain competition throughout the beef marketplace, strengthen rural economies, and support a resilient domestic beef supply chain that benefits both producers and consumers.
View the webinar USDA hosted for eligible beef slaughter establishments here.
Questions
For more information, eligible beef slaughter facilities can send any questions to SPUR@usda.gov.