USDA grant, loan guarantee will help Charles City’s Pure Prairie Farms meet goals, company says

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Pure Prairie Farms has more than $45 million more to apply toward the success of the chicken processing plant in Charles City, thanks to a federal grant and loan guarantee announced this week.

The grant, for $6.96 million, is part of $223 million announced by the Biden administration as part of its Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MMPEP) to increase processing capacity and increase competition in the meat and poultry industry.

Brian Roelofs, Pure Prairie Farms CEO and president, said, “It wasn’t so much that we matched our company to the grant, but that the grant was tailor-made for smaller food companies like ours who are partnering in ownership with growers in unique ways for the industry.”

Roelofs said the grant will help the company “reach our state-of-the-art processing plant’s full potential much quicker and restore a market for area jobs and regional farmers,” adding that the plant still intends to begin initial production this month.

In addition to the grant announced Wednesday, Pure Prairie Farms received a $38.72 million USDA-backed Rural Investment Loan through the Food Supply Guaranteed Loan Program. The funds cover construction, renovations to the processing facility, equipment, working capital and fee, according to the USDA.

The company also recently received a $2.3 million dollar training grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority to be administered through the North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC).

Roelofs said it took a significant effort to make the plant operational after sitting idle for several years after being closed by Simply Essentials in 2019.

Pure Prairie Farms purchased the Simply Essentials assets in bankruptcy court less than a year ago, in December 2021.

“The MPPEP grant now enables the team to take the business to the next level and achieve its vision around team member welfare, the quality of its facilities, and the quality of its state-of-the-art equipment. It even puts more meaning behind the company’s moniker of the ‘Where the Good Life Grows,’” the company said.

The MMPEP was launched in 2021 in response to supply chain disruptions for meat and poultry products during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the purpose of the program is to “encourage competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector, and to help improve supply chain resiliency.” The program is part of the massive federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Pure Prairie Farms is undergoing a $51.7 million improvement project, Roelofs said.

Along with capital from investors, the infusion of financial support moves Pure Prairie Farms toward its goal of “integrating operations and providing for its team members, farm partners, customers, and community,” according to a statement from the company.

With its first production run planned for mid-November with approximately 40 farmer-partners and 50 employees, the company plans to reach its full production capacity by 2024 with more than 100 farmer-partners and 400 team members, the company said. At full capacity the plant will be processing around 600,000 chickens weekly for retail, foodservice and deli customers.

The MPPEP grant will specifically help fund an 18,000-square-foot addition to include a warehouse and distribution center, dramatically improve the plant’s existing employee wellness area, and redesign its second-processing area, Roelofs said.

“All of this allows us to maintain a beneficial and safe work environment for our team members in a post-pandemic environment, and to become the regional employer of choice because of our strong training programs and commitment to developing our people,” said Roelofs. “It also helps us provide a premium choice for a growing interest in locally and responsible sourced chicken products.”

“Consumers of Pure Prairie Farms’ products will enjoy premium quality chicken raised in cooperation with family farmer owners in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, using strict animal welfare standards,” the company said. “Chickens will be fed a vegetarian diet, with no animal byproducts, and without the use of antibiotics. Products will be air-chilled, highly trimmed, and contain no added ingredients.”

Roelofs said, “We are both humbled and honored to receive the MPPEP grant, and for the positive impact it will make in our local and regional communities. It provides further proof that we’re in this for the long-haul, which is important toward continuing to build trust and confidence in our stewardship. We believe it helps keep Pure Prairie Farms privately and locally owned, which accomplishes what it was meant to do.”

U.S. Secretary of ”Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Wednesday announced $73 million in 21 MPPEP grant projects including Pure Prairie Farms.

“As we talk about restoring jobs in rural places, Pure Prairie Farms’ effort in Charles City, Iowa, is a good example of where we’ll be returning hundreds of jobs to a small rural community,” Vilsack said.

“Today’s announcement will expand meat and poultry processing capacity, which in turn increases competition, supports producer income, and strengthens the food supply chain to lower costs for working families and create jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas,” he said.

Other Iowa companies and organizations receiving funds through USDA Rural Development Food Systems Transformation are:

• Region XII Council of Governments INC, headquartered in Carroll, receiving a $15 million grant through the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program to create a statewide revolving loan program geared toward increasing the number of meat processing facilities in Iowa, diversifying ownership of processing infrastructure, improving resiliency to industry shocks, and more.

• Cherokee Locker Investment Inc., receiving $542,425 to help update locker facilities through the MPPEP.

• Upper Iowa Beef LLC, receiving an $8.87 million grant for a multi-phase expansion through the MPPEP.