II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4941 

To promote meat product innovation, including in specialty meats, and valueadded meat product development for the economic benefit of United 

States farmers and their communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To promote meat product innovation, including in specialty 

meats, and value-added meat product development for 

the economic benefit of United States farmers and their 

communities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Meat Business Innova5 tion Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MEAT PRODUCT AND BUSINESS INNOVATION INI7 TIATIVES. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘initiative’’ means a 

2 meat product and business innovation initiative es3 tablished under subsection (b). 

4 (2) MEAT BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘meat busi5 ness’’ means a business that develops, processes, 

6 produces, markets, or distributes meat products. 

7 (3) MEAT PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘meat prod8 uct’’ means— 

9 (A) a meat food product (as defined in sec10 tion 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 

11 U.S.C. 601)); 

12 (B) a poultry product (as defined in sec13 tion 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act 

14 (21 U.S.C. 453)); 

15 (C) a food product from an exotic animal 

16 (as defined in section 352.1 of title 9, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations (or a successor regula18 tion)); and 

19 (D) products derived from byproducts of 

20 meat processing for human food or biomedical 

21 applications. 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 not fewer than 3 regionally located meat product and busi3 ness innovation initiatives for the purposes of— 

4 (1) utilizing regional meat production; 

5 (2) creating higher-value uses for meat prod6 ucts and byproducts; 

7 (3) promoting business development that diver8 sifies farmer income and small, regional economies 

9 through processing and marketing innovation; 

10 (4) diversifying meat product markets to reduce 

11 risk; 

12 (5) protecting the food supply through proven 

13 food safety innovations; and 

14 (6) enhancing consumer confidence by pro15 moting practices that will improve animal welfare 

16 and ensure humane harvesting. 

17 (c) SELECTION OF INITIATIVES.—An initiative— 

18 (1) shall be located in a region with a history 

19 of livestock farming and meat processing, including 

20 fresh products and those requiring further proc21 essing, and a proven track record in food safety; 

22 (2) shall be positioned in proximity to existing 

23 meat industry resources, including research capacity, 

24 academic and industry expertise, a density of liveVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Aug 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4941.IS S4941

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1 stock farms or farmland suitable for livestock, 

2 ranching, and meat businesses of all sizes; 

3 (3) may serve— 

4 (A) a certain product niche, such as 

5 artisanal meat; or 

6 (B) meat businesses with meat products 

7 derived from a specific type of animal; and 

8 (4) shall serve meat businesses in other regions. 

9 (d) ENTITIES ELIGIBLE TO HOST INITIATIVE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any of the following entities 

11 may submit to the Secretary an application to host 

12 an initiative: 

13 (A) A State department of agriculture or 

14 other State entity. 

15 (B) A nonprofit entity with capacity to 

16 provide consultation, expertise, and grant dis17 tribution and tracking. 

18 (C) An institution of higher education. 

19 (D) A cooperative extension service with a 

20 history of supporting small- and medium-sized 

21 businesses. 

22 (2) PARTNERS.—An entity described in para23 graph (1) may establish partners prior to the sub24 mission of the application under that paragraph, or 


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1 add partners on consultation with the Secretary, 

2 which may include— 

3 (A) a generic program to promote and pro4 vide research and information for meat and 

5 meat products; 

6 (B) a foundation; or 

7 (C) any other entity described in subpara8 graphs (A) through (D) of that paragraph. 

9 (3) PREFERENCE.—In considering applications 

10 from institutions of higher education, the Secretary 

11 shall give special consideration to an institution of 

12 higher education that has— 

13 (A) biomedical, veterinary, microbiology, 

14 and entrepreneurship expertise; and 

15 (B) expertise in meat science. 

16 (e) ACTIVITIES OF INITIATIVES.— 

17 (1) DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO MEAT BUSI18 NESSES.—An initiative shall provide assistance to 

19 meat businesses in accordance with the following: 

20 (A) PROVISION OF DIRECT ASSISTANCE.— 

21 Assistance may be provided directly to meat 

22 businesses in a private consultation or through 

23 widely available distribution, and may be pro24 vided— 


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1 (i) directly by the entity that hosts the 

2 initiative under subsection (d)(1); 

3 (ii) through contracting with industry 

4 experts; 

5 (iii) through the provision of technical 

6 assistance, such as informational websites, 

7 webinars, conferences, trainings, plant 

8 tours, and field days; or 

9 (iv) through research institutions, in10 cluding cooperative extension services. 

11 (B) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Eligible 

12 forms of assistance include— 

13 (i) business consulting, including busi14 ness plan development for processed meat 

15 products; 

16 (ii) accounting and financial literacy 

17 training; 

18 (iii) market evaluation; 

19 (iv) strategic planning assistance; 

20 (v) training in animal handling, ani21 mal welfare, and humane harvesting prac22 tices; 

23 (vi) research on product innovation, 

24 including research relating to value-added 

25 products derived from meat byproducts; 


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1 (vii) marketing and branding assist2 ance, including market messaging, con3 sumer assessments, and evaluation of re4 gional, national, and international markets; 

5 (viii) innovation in emerging market 

6 opportunities, including agritourism, and 

7 marketing communication methods; 

8 (ix) packaging, distribution, and sup9 ply chain innovation; 

10 (x) food safety training and assistance 

11 with the development of effective food safe12 ty programs; 

13 (xi) meat product production training, 

14 including in new, rare, or innovative tech15 niques; 

16 (xii) reduction of enteric methane 

17 emissions; 

18 (xiii) process and processing facility 

19 improvement, including planning for and 

20 implementing plant upgrades, food safety 

21 modernization, energy and water efficiency, 

22 byproduct reprocessing and use maximiza23 tion, and waste treatment; and 


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1 (xiv) training for Federal and State 

2 inspectors and other professionals who are 

3 critical for growth of the meat industry. 

4 (2) COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO MEAT BUSI5 NESSES.—An initiative shall provide competitive 

6 grants for new and existing meat businesses for the 

7 purposes of— 

8 (A) modernization, specialization, and mar9 ket diversification for livestock farms; 

10 (B) value chain and commodity innovation 

11 and facility and process updates for meat proc12 essors; 

13 (C) product development, packaging, and 

14 marketing of meat products; 

15 (D) innovation in biomanufacturing to ad16 dress the need for— 

17 (i) byproduct reprocessing and use 

18 maximization; and 

19 (ii) improving sustainability; 

20 (E) providing food safety education and 

21 training to better meet shifting regulatory de22 mands; 

23 (F) improving and modernizing food safety 

24 infrastructure, including technological adaptaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Aug 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4941.IS S4941

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1 tions, equipment, and food safety programs; 

2 and 

3 (G) improving and modernizing animal 

4 handling safety infrastructure, including tech5 nological adaptations, equipment, and animal 

6 welfare programs. 

7 (f) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made available 

9 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall provide 

10 not fewer than 3 awards to eligible entities described 

11 in subsection (d)(1) for the purposes of carrying out 

12 the activities under subsection (e). 

13 (2) MULTIYEAR FUNDING.—The Secretary is 

14 encouraged— 

15 (A) to award funds under paragraph (1) in 

16 multiyear funding allocations; and 

17 (B) to require frequent reporting, as ap18 propriate. 

19 (3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The funds awarded to 

21 an eligible entity under paragraph (1) may be 

22 used— 

23 (i) for program administration of an 

24 initiative, including staff costs; 

25 (ii) for research activities that— 


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1 (I) directly benefit meat busi2 nesses; 

3 (II) have been identified as prior4 ities by meat businesses; and 

5 (III) require facilities, resources, 

6 research, education, and expertise pro7 vided by a funded entity that— 

8 (aa) are necessary for the 

9 identified research priorities; and 

10 (bb) would otherwise not be 

11 accessible to meat businesses; 

12 and 

13 (iii) for workshops or other informa14 tional sessions that— 

15 (I) directly benefit meat busi16 nesses, processors and entrepreneurs, 

17 and livestock farmers; or 

18 (II) enhance the capacity of pro19 viders of technical assistance to meat 

20 businesses and livestock producers. 

21 (B) ALLOCATION.—Not less than 50 per22 cent of the funds awarded to an eligible entity 

23 under paragraph (1) shall be allocated to di24 rectly benefit new meat businesses or meat 


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1 businesses that wish to update their products or 

2 processes using a grant under subsection (e)(2). 

3 (4) PRIORITY.—In providing direct assistance 

4 under subsection (e)(1) and grants under subsection 

5 (e)(2), an eligible entity shall give priority to— 

6 (A) small- and medium-sized livestock 

7 farms and meat businesses; 

8 (B) employee-owned meat businesses; 

9 (C) cooperatives; 

10 (D) meat businesses that establish con11 tracting mechanisms that return profits to 

12 farmers who supply their meat; 

13 (E) meat businesses that, in addition to 

14 salary and wage compensation, return profits to 

15 employees; 

16 (F) meat businesses that seek to create 

17 meat products that add substantial value in 

18 processing or marketing, such as specialty 

19 meats; 

20 (G) meat businesses or allied startup com21 panies that seek to address the increasing vol22 ume of otherwise discarded byproducts from 

23 animal production waste streams generated by 

24 the meat industry; and 


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1 (H) meat businesses that seek to reduce 

2 water usage, carbon footprint, or improve over3 all sustainability efforts. 

4 (5) REQUIREMENT.—In the case of direct as5 sistance under subsection (e)(1) or a grant under 

6 subsection (e)(2) that is provided to a specific meat 

7 business and does not benefit the general public, as 

8 determined by the Secretary, the assistance or grant 

9 shall exclusively be available to meat businesses 

10 owned in the United States. 

11 (6) SUPPLEMENTATION.—To the extent prac12 ticable, the Secretary shall ensure that funds pro13 vided to an initiative supplement, and do not dupli14 cate or replace, existing meat product research, de15 velopment, and promotion activities. 

16 (g) MATCHING FUNDING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour18 age, but not require, an eligible entity described in 

19 subsection (d)(1) to provide matching funding to 

20 carry out this section. 

21 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—After an initial 

22 term of funding provided to an eligible entity de23 scribed in subsection (d)(1), the Secretary is encour24 aged to work with the eligible entity to develop addi25 tional funding streams to supplement the Federal inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:18 Aug 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4941.IS S4941

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1 vestment, including from funds of a generic program 

2 to promote and provide research and information for 

3 a specific agricultural commodity, if the provision of 

4 funds is approved by the members of the generic 

5 program. 

6 (h) REPORTING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 shall submit to Congress a report describing the im10 plementation of this section. 

11 (2) INNOVATION REPORTS.—The Secretary, in 

12 coordination with the Chief Economist, shall publish 

13 an annual report on the status of— 

14 (A) innovation in meat products; 

15 (B) product development under the pro16 gram under this section; 

17 (C) growth areas for meat product develop18 ment; and 

19 (D) barriers inhibiting majority member20 owned domestic meat firms from— 

21 (i) updating capacity; 

22 (ii) performing competitively in the 

23 marketplace; and 

24 (iii) returning gains to members or re25 investing the gains in ways that benefit the 


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1 long-term financial stability of the majority 

2 member-owned domestic meat firm and the 

3 members of that firm. 

4 (i) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

6 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

7 shall use to carry out this section $30,000,000, to 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

11 this section $30,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

Æ 


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