# USDA Food Safety Chief Mindy Brashears Praises Wisconsin's 232 Inspected Meat Plants > USDA under secretary Mindy Brashears praised Wisconsin's 232 federally inspected meat plants and said a fourth round of IMPACT grants is coming soon. - Published: 2026-10-25T10:27:39+00:00 - Section: Business - Author: News Desk - URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-25/usda-wisconsin-meat-processing-brashears - Source: [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/usda-food-safety-chief-touts-100157931.html) ## Key takeaways - Wisconsin has 232 federally inspected meat-processing establishments, the ninth-highest total among states, and 88% are small or very small businesses. - Wisconsin has 181 state-inspected plants and 48 Cooperative Interstate Shipment establishments, one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing CIS programs. - USDA expects to announce a fourth round of IMPACT grants and has proposed SPUR 2.0 loan guarantees for processor expansion. Dr. Mindy Brashears, [USDA](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/003c1nk/usda) under secretary for food safety, said Wisconsin's meat-processing network and inspection programs make the state a national model for expanding market access while maintaining food safety standards. She spoke on October 20 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/usda-food-safety-chief-touts-100157931.html) reported. ## Brashears Details Wisconsin's Inspection Network Wisconsin has 232 federally inspected meat-processing establishments, the ninth-highest total among states, and about 88% of those facilities are classified as small or very small businesses. The state also has 181 state-inspected plants and 48 Cooperative Interstate Shipment establishments, making it one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing CIS programs. Wisconsin was among the first adopters of the program, according to Brashears. "We are very excited about what Wisconsin does," Brashears said. "It really gives our ranchers and those raising animals multiple opportunities on where they can go to market with their product." Roughly 38 states operate both federal and state meat inspection systems, while only 11 states participate in the CIS program, which allows qualifying state-inspected plants to ship products across state lines. Brashears said the added layer gives small processors access to larger regional and national markets. "Being able to ship across state lines is a very big deal because it expands market access and ultimately impacts the bottom line of a business," she said. Brashears said the biggest challenge for small plants is technical expertise, and USDA is developing a network connecting processors with university extension specialists, industry associations and agency experts. She also highlighted USDA's revised "Product of USA" labeling rule, which requires animals to be born, raised, harvested and processed in the United States before qualifying for the label. ## USDA Programs for Small Processors According to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), USDA comprises 29 agencies and offices delivering various programs and services, and is strategically placed in over 80 countries monitoring agricultural matters globally. The department was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Washington. Brashears said USDA expects to soon announce details of a fourth round of IMPACT grants, which help processors purchase equipment and make facility improvements. USDA also reimburses qualifying small plants for certain inspection-related overtime and holiday costs, and has proposed the SPUR 2.0 initiative, which would provide government-backed loan guarantees for expansion projects. "It can be anything from buying a packaging machine to establishing a mobile slaughter unit," Brashears said. ## Earlier USDA Actions This Month On October 22, the Trump administration announced USDA will invest about $603 million in fertilizer projects across nearly 20 states, including Iowa, to boost domestic production and lower costs, Yahoo reported. The same day, USDA announced eight fertilizer manufacturing projects selected for funding through its Fields Program, representing over $1.34 billion in total proposed investment, including about $573 million in USDA funding, The future of trading reported. On October 21, USDA announced over $900 million in federal assistance for Nebraska farmers and ranchers, with more than $800 million from farm safety net programs and $85 million for conservation, EIN Presswire reported. ## What Comes Next for USDA Brashears said USDA plans to announce a fourth round of IMPACT grants and the proposed SPUR 2.0 loan-guarantee initiative. The agency also is developing a technical-assistance network for small processors. ## Companies in this story - [USDA company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/003c1nk/usda) · website: https://www.usda.gov --- News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt