MPPEP Phase 3 Invasive Wild-Caught Catfish
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- RD-RBS-25-03-MPPEP
- Agency
-
Rural Business Cooperative Services
Washington Office, Department of Agriculture
- Applications due
- Award size
- $250,000 to $1,000,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Grant
- Category
-
- Agriculture
- Eligible applicants
-
- Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
- For Profit Organizations
- City/Township Governments
- Other
- County Governments
- State Governments
- Small Businesses
- Tribal Organizations (Not Federally Recognized)
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development's Rural Business-Cooperative Services is offering a $6 million competitive grant opportunity through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) Phase 3, specifically targeting the processing of invasive, wild-caught catfish. Eligible applicants include for-profit and nonprofit entities, producer-owned cooperatives, tribes, and government entities that currently process seafood or have plans to obtain USDA inspection. Applicants must demonstrate a strategy to increase processing capacity for invasive catfish, have a state aquatic nuisance species management plan, and align with program goals of reducing invasive species populations and improving food supply chain resilience. The grant will be evaluated across multiple criteria, including market impact, financial viability, technical merit, labor conditions, marine ecosystem impact, and community support. The application deadline is October 6, 2025, with a maximum project performance period of 24 months.
Grants will range from $250,000 to $1 million, representing up to 50% of total project costs, and can be used for equipment purchases, facility improvements, and upgrades to increase invasive catfish processing capacity. The project must be completed within 48 months and will specifically support processors located within the United States or its territories. Successful applicants will be required to process one or more species subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, possess or plan to obtain federal or state inspection, and cannot have a market share greater than the fourth-largest processor in beef, pork, chicken, or turkey processing markets.
Synopsis
The Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) provides grants to help eligible meat and poultry processors expand their capacity. USDA Rural Development designed this program to encourage competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector, and to help improve supply chain resiliency. The previous 2 Phases of MPPEP made available funding for new facilities and renovation and expansion of existing facilities.
USDA MPPEP Phase III is making competitive grant funding available specifically for the processing of wild-caught invasive catfish for purchase of equipment, including improvements, upgrades, renovations or retrofits to an existing Facility, needed to install the equipment to increase processing capacity of invasive, Wild-Caught catfish and overall volume of Processing. This will not only scale capacity and efficiency at Processing facilities, but also help to reduce Invasive Species populations that are decimating marine ecosystems and threatening the economy of the fishing industry.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RD-Environmental-Information-7-31-23 (2).pdf | ||
| MPPEP 3 ApplicationChecklist_508.pdf | ||
| MPPEP_Phase 3_Application_Template_12052024_jb508 (1).docx | DOCX document | |
| RFA MPPEP3 Catfish FY25 2025 08 06 FInal.pdf |
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