Tennessee grass FED, LLC, a farmer-owned company, produces and markets specialty meat in the nashville, tennessee area

Tennessee Grass Fed, LLC (TGF) received a $196,270 Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants – Supplemental Funding program (CFDA 10.180). TGF operates an on-farm meat processing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee that processes meat from over nine area producers for sale through direct and retail channels. The grant funds will allow TGF to improve packaging and labeling functionality, expand processing and manufacturing capabilities, and increase cut room capacity as it pursues a Federal Grant of Inspection. Obtaining this inspection status will enable TGF to enter new markets like retailers, restaurants, and distributors by September 2022. TGF will contribute its own funds to finalize food safety programs required for USDA-inspected processing.

The company launched with the sales of farm-raised grass-FED beef over ten years ago. Overtime, TGF's business has expanded. Now, meat from over nine area producers is sold under the TGF label. The company's growth, however, has been slowed by limited access to slaughter and processing capacity. In response, TGF launched their own on-farm cutting facility. Livestock are slaughtered in KY and sides/primals are further processed in TGF's facility. The facility recently received retail exempt status through the state of tennessee. This on-farm processing facility fills a void in middle tennessee, where there is very limited slaughter and further processing capacity. Currently, meat from the facility is sold through a variety of consumer-direct market channels, including through the farm store and farmers' markets. TGF is pursuing a federal grant of inspection (fmia) to expand the markets for meat processed in its facility. Being USDA inspected will allow the company to enter new markets, including expanding sales through retailers, restaurants, and distributors. $196,270 in grant funds are being requested to: a) improve packaging and labeling functionality, necessary for compliance with fmia guidelines, b) expand processing and manufacturing capabilities, and c) increase cut room capacity. TGF will use its own funds to finalize food safety programs necessary for processing under USDA inspection. TGF hopes to have all projects completed and its federal grant of inspection in place by february 1, 2022.