St. Mary's County finalizes RFP for USDA-certified meat processing facility

A meeting participant said the Tri-County Council finalized a request for proposals for a meat processing facility in St. Mary's County and submitted a grant application intended to support the project.

The project matters because a USDA-certified processor would allow local agricultural producers to process livestock within Southern Maryland instead of shipping animals out of the region. "We should have news on that on Thursday," the meeting participant said, adding that approval should be done "by mid April" and that, "the Lord willing and the creeks don't rise by October, we might have an actual USDA, USDA certified meat processing facility for our ag providers."

During remarks the speaker said the previous plan for a processing "rack" had been discontinued because of cost and lack of progress. A new provider has since advanced toward the technical requirements needed for USDA approval, and the grant application was finalized at a recent Tri-County Council meeting, the speaker said. No formal vote or board action on the RFP was recorded in the transcript excerpt.

Representatives of the Farm Bureau, the speaker said, are "extremely excited" and are awaiting the announcement. The meeting participant also referenced Commissioner Colvin in passing while noting local interest in the project.

Next steps identified in the remarks: expect a public announcement when grant approval is known (the speaker said news could come Thursday), followed by regulatory steps aimed at USDA certification. The transcript does not specify the grant source, the applicant organization’s legal name, the RFP terms, nor an exact date for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.