Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, N.J. is using $4.2 million from USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) to substantially expand its processing capacity, state officials said.
The fourth-generation family owned and operated livestock producer in Bergen County is among the recipients of more than $223 million in grants and loans unveiled by USDA last week to increase competition and economic opportunities for meat and poultry producers across the country.
Goffle will use the money on renovations to its current 15,000-square-foot building, including the construction of an evisceration room and the addition of a 15,000 square foot extension for further product processing and storage, according to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
The expansion project will help Goffle increase its business “by a projected 300%, build a new stand-alone market and provide halal poultry to meet a growing market need,” stated New Jersey Development State Director Jane Asselta.
The farm is among more than 30 small and medium-size players in 19 states to be awarded funding from a pool of more than 300 applicants.
In announcing its grants and loans, USDA detailed six entities as examples of where the government’s funds are headed, including Greater Omaha Packing in Omaha, Neb., and Pure Prairie Farms in Charles City, Iowa. The USDA will soon take applicants for an additional $225 million, which will bring to $375 million the total being spent on independent processing plant projects, the agency said.
