CHARLES CITY – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Farah Ahmad announced that the Department is investing $38,720,000 under the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program to help Pure Prairie Farms Inc. expand capacity to process poultry and create job opportunities for people living in rural Iowa. The Department is also investing a $6,963,725 grant in the premium chicken integrator from the Meat and Poultry Processing and Expansion Program. The funding is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthen critical food supply chain infrastructure to create more thriving communities for the American people.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA know that rural entrepreneurs and business owners build opportunities for their neighbors and make it their life’s mission to serve their unique community’s needs,” said Ahmad. “We’re proud to partner with Pure Prairie Farms on this project that will revive a key economic engine for this area, increase poultry processing in the upper Midwest and restore hundreds of jobs.”
Pure Prairie Farms Inc., a grower-owned corporation, purchased a shuttered facility in Charles City last year. The company will use the funding to expand warehouse and distribution space, increase value-added processing capabilities, and improve employee welfare spaces. This expanded premium organic chicken plant will restore a market for regional poultry growers and jobs in this community of 7,400 people.
The Biden-Harris Administration made these funds available through its historic legislative package, the American Rescue Plan Act. The program is part of the administration’s efforts to address food system challenges dating back decades and further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.