Source: UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE submitted to NRP
NERME MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING GRANTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1029172
Grant No.
2022-70419-38562
Cumulative Award Amt.
$600,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-07339
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2022
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[OC]- ARPA-Risk Management Educ. Partnerships
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
(N/A)
NEWARK,DE 19717
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The NERME Meat and Poulty Processing (MPP) project is a response to a variety of shocks experienced in the food supply chain during and following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, small-to-medium sized meat and poultry processing enterprises faced an unprecedented risk environment with facility capacity and labor challenges. The Northeast Center is one of four regional centers whose mission is "educating America's farmers and ranchers to manage the unique risks of producing food for the world's table". In conjunction with the other regional Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) centers, the Northteast Center will conduct a competitive grant program in the northeast region to address the challenges and needs of the small-to-medium sized meat and poultry processing enterprisesFunding associated with this competitive grant program will be focused on workforce development relevant to agricultural producers in the meat and poultry supply chain associated with five risk categories: Production; Marketing; Financial; Legal; and Human.Northeast Center recognizes and will strive to align with USDA's Strategic Goals; specifically Strategic Goal 2: Ensure America's Agricultural System is Equitable, Resilient, and Prosperous; Strategic Goal 3: Foster an Equitable and Competitive Marketplace for All Agricultural Producers; and Strategic Goal 5: Expand Opportunities for Economic Development and Improve Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
30762203100100%
Knowledge Area
307 - Animal Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
6220 - Marketing, processing, and supply firms other than cooperatives;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management;
Goals / Objectives
The main goal of this Meat and Poultry Processing (MPP) project is to build capacity and workforce development for small-to-medium sized meat and poultry processing enterprises in the region.The Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center (Northeast Center), in conjunction with the other regional Extension Risk Management Education Centers (ERME) and with support from the ERME Digital Center, will solicit applications through a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process.The MPP funding will be focused on workforce development relevant to agricultural producers in the meat and poultry supply chain associated with five risk categories: Production; Marketing; Financial; Legal; and Human.The Northeast Center will strive to align with USDA's Strategic Goals; specifically Strategic Goal 2: Ensure America's Agricultural System is Equitable, Resilient, and Prosperous; Strategic Goal 3: Foster an Equitable and Competitive Marketplace for All Agricultural Producers; and Strategic Goal 5: Expand Opportunities for Economic Development and Improve Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities.The Northeast Center will evaluate the progress and publicly report the accomplishments of all funded projects.
Project Methods
The Northeast Center will use the following methods to conduct the MPP program:A Request for Applications (RFA) will be developed and released in conjunction with the other three Regional Centers and with support from the ERME Digital Center.Applicant Training will be conducted following the release of the MPP RFA.All applications and subsequent reporting for approved projects will be submitted online through the ERME Results Verification System (RVS). Significant resources are made available in the RVS to assist grant applicants in understanding the results-based emphasis of the program, as well as each section of the application. It is anticipated the deadline for submission will be 60 days following the release of the RFA.All applications received by the stated deadline will be read and reviewed by a National Advisory Council. For their evaluation process, Council members will utilize the online Evaluation program which is part of the RVS.Approximately 6 weeks following the application due date, the AC will convene, in person, to conduct its deliberations over a two-day period. With facilitation provided by the Center directors, proposals will be ranked, discussed according to the process stipulated in the Operational Guidelines. As with the facilitation process, all conflict-of-interest issues will be addressed according to the Operational Guidelines.Following the recommendations of the AC, the Center Directors will coordinate notification to the applicants regarding whether (or not) their proposal is approved for funding.Grantee Training and Project Director Orientation will be conducted for all successful applicants (on or near the project start date) on the management and reporting requirements for their awards.Project Directors will carry out their plan of work for which they are funded and report the impacts.

Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project incudes beginning and "traditional" producers, and small-scale livestock producers, who primarily focus on direct to consumer sales; and small and very small meat and poultry processors. Additional target audiences include small and medium meat producers and processors interested in entering or collaborating in the value-added (non-commodity) meat supply chain. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The MPP Project Directors participated in the 2024 National Extension Risk Management Education Conference. At the conference they participated in a program evaluation and reporting best practices session. In addition, several concurrent sessions were presented on the topic of MPP. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to monitor the progress reports as the Project Directors submit them in a timely manner. The next progress report is due in September 2024.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Through the Results Verification System, the Northeast Center tracks the progress of each of the MPP projects. The project directors submitted their 4th progress report in June. 63 participants reported having increased their understanding of liability, business and food safety issues and 263 reported having increased their understanding of marketing and/or direct marketing. 63 reported having developed a direct marketing plan. Additionally 260 participants reported having implemented a markeitng plan or stratedgy and 130 particpants implemented a labor managment plan. Eduactional sessions have been delivered in New York, Pennsylvnia and Massachusetts. Educational materials have been developed and uploaded to RVS.

Publications


    Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The target audience includes; small-scale livestock producers, beginning, samll and traditional producers small and very small meat and poultry processors, direct to consumer market farm owners and managers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Northeast Center provided training for the project directors so they could navigate the Result Verification System and stay on track with their plans according to their plans of work. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period the MPP project director will participate in the National Extension Risk Management Education Conference to share the progress of their projects. They will also have an opportunity to participate in a professional development event on the topic of program evaluation.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The Northeast Center published the MPP RFA and funded three (3) projects in 2023. The total amount of funding offered to the project directors totals $334,428. The project directors are well on their way toward delivering education, sharing tools and resource that will ultimately build capacity for the meat and poultry processing industry in the northeast. All project directors have submitted their progress reports in a timely manner and are up-to-date on invoicing.

    Publications