Upgrading Plants Act News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

First round of RAMP-UP Act funds will help small to midsized lockers expand.

  HURON, S.D. – Impacts of market consolidation on farmers and ranchers was the focus of Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar’s February 26 presentation to producers during the 2021 National Farmers Union Virtual Convention. “Farmers are paying a lot more, but not getting a lot more,” Klobuchar said. She shared that this is largely due to market consolidation – noting just two companies sell 80 percent of all corn seed. And the Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, pointed out increased input costs do not translate to incr...

Chelsea Stanfield / KOSU The new $900 billion coronavirus relief bill recently passed by Congress includes $60 million of grants for small meat processors to update and expand their facilities. Up to $200,000 in grants can be used to update or expand a small processing facility to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection standards. Updating to federal inspection standards would mean the meat could be sold across state lines. The inclusion is a modified version of the Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants Act, or RAMP-UP Act. The original bill was introduced by a...