By Jamie Martin
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced a significant funding boost of $14.5 million to support state meat and poultry inspection programs.
The decision, which utilizes the USDA’s authority, aims to ensure states have the resources needed to continue conducting vital food safety inspections that protect the public and help keep meat and poultry products flowing to markets and families across the country.
Without this increase, many state-run programs could face operational challenges, risking the continuity of essential inspection services that ensure food safety and market access for producers.
“President Trump is committed to ensuring Americans have access to a safe, affordable food supply. Today I exercised my authority to robustly fund state meat and poultry inspection programs to ensure states can continue to partner with USDA to deliver effective and efficient food safety inspection,” said Secretary Rollins.
“While the Biden Administration let this funding decline in recent years, the Trump Administration recognizes the importance of our federal-state partnerships and will ensure services that our meat and poultry processors and producers rely on will continue to operate on a normal basis. The President’s commitment is reflected in his 2026 budget proposal, which calls on Congress to address this funding shortfall moving forward.”
"State meat and poultry inspection programs are vital to maintaining a safe and resilient food system, especially for small and medium-sized producers and processors. On behalf of the state departments of agriculture, NASDA applauds Secretary Rollins and USDA-FSIS for providing an additional $14.54 million to increase the reimbursement rate for this critical state cooperative agreement in this fiscal year. In recent years, USDA has been providing states with significantly less funding, challenging states' ability to provide inspection services," said Ted McKinney, CEO, NASDA.
"Increasing the reimbursement rate for states participating in this cooperative agreement ensures that more efficient processing options for local livestock producers remain in operation, especially for smaller farms. We were also encouraged that the President's budget included a similar funding request for state meat and poultry inspection programs. We will continue to advocate for Congress to appropriate this essential funding."
This funding guarantees that American-made meat and poultry can continue reaching markets and ultimately the tables of families nationwide.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-luoman
Categories: National