Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant

The Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Equipment Only Grant provides Iowa small-scale meat processing businesses, licensed custom lockers, and mobile slaughter units with grants of up to $20,000 to purchase equipment that expands processing capacity. Administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) through the Choose Iowa program and established under Iowa Code 2025, Section 15E.370, the current round of funding has $105,000 in total available funding. The program is a subset of the broader Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Grant, with this current round focused exclusively on equipment purchases rather than facility construction or expansion. Applicants must provide a minimum 1:1 financial match from private sources (such as cash, financing, or other non-federal or non-state grant funds). In-kind contributions are not accepted, and grants are paid out as reimbursements after the project is completed.

To qualify, applicants must be a state-inspected or federally inspected small-scale meat processing business, a licensed custom locker, or a mobile slaughter unit (operating in compliance with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s mobile slaughter unit compliance guide) that is incorporated or authorized to do business in Iowa. Applicants must be in good standing with the State of Iowa, not currently in bankruptcy, employ fewer than 75 full-time nonseasonal individuals, employ only individuals legally authorized to work in Iowa, and either hold a current license from IDALS or be actively working with IDALS to obtain one. Businesses must not have been subject to any regulatory enforcement action related to federal, state, or local environmental, worker safety, food processing, or food safety laws within the last five years. IDALS employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to apply. Membership in the Choose Iowa Brand Program is not required but encouraged (and provides bonus scoring points on the application).

Projects must create or expand meat processing opportunities, or provide greater flexibility or convenience in processing for local small-scale meat processing facilities. Projects must be conducted in Iowa, cannot be in progress before an application is submitted, and must be completed within the project period defined for the grant round. Eligible expenses include refrigerators or freezers, meat processing equipment, packaging equipment, and shipping and sales tax on those purchases. Ineligible expenses include installation costs (construction, site prep, electrical, plumbing), administrative or overhead costs, cost of doing business (inventory, license fees, working capital), advertising, public relations, entertainment, employee wages and benefits, general-use equipment not related to the project, fines, penalties or settlements, real estate purchases, rent or contract payments extending beyond the grant contract term, union organizing-related costs, and lobbying or political activity.

Applications are submitted through the Choose Iowa online application portal and are competitively scored on a 100-point scale across six criteria: alignment with the program’s goals of creating jobs and expanding processing opportunities (20 points), impact on Iowa agriculture (20 points), measurable project objectives (20 points), business readiness and financial sustainability (15 points), detailed budget and match (15 points), and work plan and timeline (10 points). Choose Iowa Brand Program members can earn up to three bonus points on top of the 100-point base score. Awardees must sign a grant agreement with IDALS within 30 days of receipt and are required to submit a project summary with photos and detailed outcomes when requesting final reimbursement.