The governments of Canada and Ontario are helping agri-food businesses address efficiency and productivity issues in free standing meat plants and abattoirs

Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the Meat Processors Capacity Improvement Initiative will provide funding for eligible recipients to implement projects to improve the productivity of their operations through equipment upgrades. Successful applicants are eligible to receive up to 60% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $150,000.

Applications for this program are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Eligibility Requirments

By the program’s definition, an applicant would have to meet one of the following requirements to be considered eligible to apply:

• Be an establishment identified in a licence that is issued under the Safe Food for Canadians Act (Canada) to slaughter a food animal, or to manufacture, process, treat, preserve, grade, package or label a meat product
• Be a meat plant operated under a licence issued under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 

Eligible Expenses and Activities

Eligible expenses from this program are retroactive to November 27, 2020 and must be incurred by March 1, 2021, with equipment to be installed no later than May 31, 2021. Equipment must be for facilities in Ontario and must remain in Ontario post-project completion. Eligible activities and expenses for equipment and associated costs include:

Increased cooler/freezer capacity, including:

• Reefer trailers
• Condenser units
• Seals on cooler freezer doors
• Air flow upgrades in coolers/freezers (e.g., fans)

Waste management handling/processing, including:

• Equipment and structures to handle, store, and dispose of deadstock and processing by-products (e.g., blood and wastewater holding tanks)
• Equipment and structures to handle, store, and dispose of SRM (e.g., chilled and frozen storage, SRM screen system for whole plant); In-vessel composting, treatment, and disposal (e.g., hides, feathers, deadstock)

Animal handling/processing, including:

• Barn/holding pen upgrades (e.g., chute design, increase size capacity)
• Animal restraints/knock boxes/upgrades (e.g., non-slip floor, upright restraints)
• Kill floor/evisceration room equipment (e.g., stunning equipment, hoists, bleed rail, saws, pneumatic skinning knife, hide pullers, leg cutters)

Product Handling/processing, including:

• Conveyer/rail systems, winches, hydraulics, skinning beds/cradles, automated tote washer, scales, vacuum packaging, mixers

• Engineering/professional services for equipment associated with the completion of this project

• One-time costs associated with training key personnel on project-related new equipment and technology (e.g., train the trainer)

• One-time labour costs specifically required for the project, such as third-party advisory fees