Rawhide meats will use the USDA grant to obtain a federal grant of inspection under fmia

Rawhide Meats LLC will use a $194,753 USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grant to obtain a Federal Meat Inspection Act grant of inspection. Funds will support equipment upgrades, standard sanitation operating procedures and hazard analysis and critical control plan revisions, and employee training to meet FMIA requirements. Equipment to be purchased includes a federally compliant smoker, scales with labeling capabilities, and a water activity meter. Training will ensure the facility maintains federal inspection standards. Additional equipment like a smoker, mixer, grinder, tumbler, tenderizer and vacuum packers will increase production capacity from 24 to 36 animals per week. A merchandising cooler and freezer will improve retail services. The project aims to better serve local livestock producers and retail customers in Meagher County, Montana and surrounding areas by increasing Rawhide Meats' small state-inspected facility's production and retail capabilities.

We will accomplish this by 1) upgrading equipment that will meet fmia requirements, 2) improving current ssops and haccp plans that will align with fmia requirements and educating employees in safe meat handling practices, and 3) improving capacity to better serve the local communities for both livestock producers and retail customers.rawhide meats is a small, state inspected slaughter and meat processing facility located in meagher county, montana. The facility employees 11 people and provides meat processing services to meagher county, population 1800 people, and the surrounding counties of broadwater, park, and musselshell. There are limited meat processing facilities available for the small, family-owned farms that raise livestock here.equipment upgrades include a fmia compliant smoker, scales with label printing capability, and water activity meter. All employees will be trained on new equipment, processes, and safety procedures to ensure that the plant can obtain and maintain a federal grant of inspection. The purchase of the smoker, mixer, grinder, tumbler, tenderizer, and vacuum packers will provide increased capacity to increase production. Retail services will be improved with the purchase of a merchandizing cooler and freezer. The resulting increased capacity will enable US to meet the growing demand of both livestock producers and customer demand in retail markets. These improvements will provide the capability and capacity to increase production from 24 animals to 36 animals per week.