Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Wednesday announced a $73 million investment through the first round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The funding supports 21 grant projects to expand meat and poultry processing capacity, increasing competition, supporting producer income, and strengthening the food supply chain to lower costs, according to USDA. Vilsack says, “These investments create more opportunities for farmers and ranchers to get a fair price, while strengthening supply chains.” In addition, the Administration is investing $75 million for eight projects through the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program and more than $75 million for four meat and poultry-related projects through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan program. The program was designed to support capacity expansion projects in concert with other private and public finance tools. Additional announcements are expected in the coming weeks. USDA will also soon begin taking applications for a new phase to deploy an additional $225 million investment.