Nebraska's small and medium-sized meat processors may be improving and/or expanding their businesses thanks to a new lower-interest loan program designed specifically for them.

The Center for Rural Affairs has added a Meat and Poultry Processing Loan program to its current loan offerings.

The program is made possible with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program grant.

Independent meat processors now have access to $15 million in loan capital through the program's loan fund.

Meg Jackson - a local foods associate with the Center - said it's an "exciting time" for the local meat industry, since the USDA announced its initiative to help smaller, independent processors.

She said the fact that the four largest meat packers have come to dominate nearly 85 percent of the industry has had an impact at every level.

"The consolidation of the meat industry has totally disrupted the pricing, choice and supply chain," said Jackson. "It's impacted negatively the pricing for farmers and what they're able to get for their livestock, and the price at the meat counter for consumers.

Jackson said the Center's Meat and Poultry Processing Loans are designed to help both existing USDA-inspected processors and startups planning to become USDA-inspected.

She said the Center is aware that some small-town lockers have struggled to stay competitive against the larger processors while also dealing with aging equipment, owners reaching retirement age and a changing workforce.

For those who've faced lack of access to capital, the Center's new loan program may be the resource they need.

The Center is accepting applications now, and Jackson explained that the funding can be used for a wide variety of purposes.

"These loans can be used for expansion of existing processors," said Jackson, "start-up of new processors, real estate and equipment, facilities updates, and working capital."

She described the ideal applicants as the rural meat lockers who are serving their regional farmers, grocery stores, and consumers.

The general manager of McClean Beef in York, Brian Kurth, said a loan program like this is really needed. He said when they're busy, they're "lined up and backed up," fueled in part by changing concerns of consumers.

"It's needed because we're trying to expand and meet the market," said Kurth. "Consumers are wanting to know where their food comes from, and that is why this has picked up so much."

Kurth said most of the beef they process comes from within an hour or so of York, but they've gotten it from as far away as Wyoming and Minnesota.

He said there's more than one reason this loan program appeals to them.

"It's an opportunity for us to get lower interest rates, for one," said Kurth. "It's a breath of fresh air to talk to their staff that understand ag and understand our complexities and differences."

Massachusetts farmers said they are bracing for revenue losses due to cuts in fresh produce SNAP benefits.

Starting Dec. 1, families who utilize the state's Healthy Incentives Program to buy food directly from farmers will see their benefits cut to just $20 a month, regardless of household size.

Rebecca Miller, policy director for the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, said many farmers have structured their operations around SNAP customers.

"A lot of them are worried that they might have to do layoffs," Miller pointed out. "Especially for folks that they've hired that are multilingual that serve folks with SNAP benefits."

Miller stressed less money being spent at farmers' markets will have a ripple effect across the state's agricultural industry. Nearly 300 farmers participate in the SNAP program but state officials said the cuts are needed due to budget constraints.

The Healthy Incentives Program provides a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement when SNAP users buy healthy, local food directly from Massachusetts farmers. A state survey found that each dollar spent in the program results in an additional $2 in local economic impact, when farmers spend the money on local goods and services. Miller emphasized she is concerned about families getting through the winter.

"We expect to see increased food insecurity," Miller explained. "Folks needing to visit food pantries more, folks having to take more medicine to address chronic diet-related health needs."

Miller noted a study found each program participant increased their fresh fruit and vegetable intake by one serving per day, which leads to lower public health care costs over time. She added supporters are asking the legislature for an additional $10 million to maintain current funding levels through June. State officials say they are restructuring the program to ensure long-term viability.


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Kentucky farmers are using biosolids or "biosludge" from city sewage as cheap fertilizer but the price tag is high in terms of health, from toxic industrial chemicals known as PFAS and heavy metals contaminating produce, groundwater and soil.

Kentucky lawmakers have passed regulations experts said weaken protections for biosludge application on farmland.

Tom FitzGerald, attorney and former director of the Kentucky Resources Council, warned farmers in the Commonwealth trying to save money on fertilizer by using biosludge could end up with a significant headache down the road.

"Unless the cities are properly managing the waste that come into the system, and are sampling and clearing them for release for public use, I would simply tell the farmers not to take these biosludges, because the risks are so high," FitzGerald asserted.

According to open records request data from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, lab samples from around a dozen wastewater treatment plants statewide revealed most contained detectable levels of PFAS.

Adam Nordell said his small family-owned vegetable farm dream in Maine became a nightmare when he discovered sewage sludge applied decades prior had irreparably contaminated his land and groundwater with high levels of PFAS. He stressed he wants to raise awareness among farmers in other states about the risks, and the importance of testing.

"We had been living on contaminated land," Nordell explained. "We've been drinking contaminated water. We've been irrigating our crops and supporting our livestock with contaminated groundwater."

FitzGerald said Kentucky's regulations reduce accountability and do not require cities to test the biosludge before it's applied to farmland.

"The cabinet should have used its authority to broaden out the list of contaminants, to broaden out the sampling and testing requirements and to broaden out the notice requirements to farmers," FitzGerald contended.

According to the Environmental Working Group, at least 5% of all crop fields nationwide could be using biosludge likely contaminated with PFAS. And since 2016, more than 19 billion pounds of biosludge have been applied to farm fields.


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Some Iowa farmers are putting a new spin on an age-old animal behavior.

They're using goats to remove weeds, overgrown brush, and non-native grasses - while helping some landowners restore native habitat to their acres at the same time.

Goats are pretty well known for producing milk and cheese. They're even used to help practice yoga these days.

Matt Vermeersch is a member of Practical Farmers of Iowa who farms about 170 acres near Red Oak - near the Nebraska state line - and operates Goats-On-The-Go, a side business stocked with herds of goats hungry for woody vegetation.

"A lot of really what we refer to as weeds, or pain-in-the-butt plants," said Vermeersch. "Things that they love are things like poison ivy, nettles, wild berry species with their thorns - then more woody species like Honeysuckle or buckthorn."

Vermeersch estimated his three Goats-On-The-Go herds cleared about 120 acres of various vegetation this year, and could have done more had it not been for Iowa's severe spring and summer weather.

There are ecological benefits to the practice, too. People hire Vermeersch's goats to clear land where native species once grew, and where farmers want it to return.

Vermeersch said while Iowa landowners are often trying to clear overgrown brush and reintroduce native species, sometimes they just need stands of troublesome weeds and brambles removed.

At which, Vermeersch said, the goats have no equal.

"It almost looks like a wildfire went through there the day after you take the goats off," said Vermeersch. "We refer to it as a grazing line - and pretty much anything under 6 feet tall all that will be left are sticks and stems. All of the leafy material underneath that is usually consumed."

Vermeersch said the goats are used for different reasons across the country.

In western states, for example, they are dispatched to clear brush that can serve as wildfire fuel, reducing the chances that a fire can become catastrophic by keeping the underbrush down.