Montana Farmers Union received a $150,000 Montana Meat Processing Infrastructure Grant, which was funded by COVID-19 relief funds.
The grant will be used to purchase a mobile harvest unit. The unit will give Montana producers and butchers the opportunity to harvest livestock that will be USDA-inspected and for sale.
The organization will also partner with Montana State University Northern to develop a meat processing curriculum that teaches meat processing from harvest to retail by using the mobile unit.
“Now more than ever it is critical to build the infrastructure necessary to increase local meat processing,” said Walter Schweitzer, president of Montana Farmers Union. “Cooperative projects like this one will help achieve food security, which is a key to building a more resilient food system.”
Montana Farmers Union and Farmers Union partners in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Farmers Union Enterprise will also each invest an additional $150,000 to purchase and setup the mobile unit as a cooperative.
