WYOMING – Gov. Mark Gordon announced the return of the Wyoming Meat Processing Expansion Grant Program on June 23.

The Wyoming Department of Agriculture has already began accepting applications for the program, which continues to provide support for Wyoming meat processing facilities and Wyoming citizens impacted by supply chain disruptions and regional shutdowns of processing facilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health precautions.

Gordon’s office said he has allocated up to $2 million in CARES Act funds for the program. The grant is based on the ongoing need to increase Wyoming’s local food supply chain security and capacity.

“The significant processing bottlenecks that surfaced last year have not gone away,” Gov. Gordon said. “This program will continue to help improve our meat processing capacity and ensure Wyomingites have access to high-quality products. Our work assisting independent processors is important to our overall agricultural diversification efforts and helps to expand an important sector of our ag economy.”

According to the governor’s office, priority will be given to those who did not receive funding under the initial round of the program. Following priority ordering, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis of first come, first served until funds are expanded. Applications will be reviewed for accuracy, eligibility and completeness by the Wyoming Business Council, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the governor’s office.

The program offers grants of up to $500,000 to eligible businesses with a 50-percent match component for funding. Rules, requirements and applications can be found at agriculture.wy.gov.