Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025

Access to Resources for Small Businesses: The bill requires the Secretary to establish a free, searchable database of peer-sreviewed validation studies and publish online model plans for various types of establishments (Section 2). This could help smaller operations develop necessary safety plans more easily.

Financial Support for Processing Facilities: The creation of a Processing Resilience Grant Program provides competitive grants of up to $500,000 to help entities increase processing capacity and support the health and safety of employees and customers (Section 5).

Support for Local Farmers: Grant priority is given to proposals that increase farmer and rancher access to animal slaughter options within a 200-mile radius of their location (Section 5).

Workforce Development: The bill provides grants to establish or expand career training programs, including structured apprenticeships, to build a workforce for meat and poultry processing (Section 6).

Increased State Inspection Funding: The bill increases the maximum Federal share for state inspection expenses from 50 percent to 65 percent for both poultry and meat (Section 3).

Strict Safety Requirements: Establishments must meet specific requirements to receive approval for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans (Section 2).

Requirement for Increased Capacity/Changes: The bill adjusts employee counts used to define certain programs, such as changing the threshold from 25 employees to 50 employees for specific interstate shipment provisions (Section 4).