Grower-owned cooperative Michigan Turkey Producers is making upgrades and expanding its plant in Grand Rapids with assistance from a federal grant.
While speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention on January 9, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that Michigan Turkey Producers would be one of three companies to receive Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion grants from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The cooperative will receive $1,531,204 to help upgrade the hot water system, wastewater treatment facilities and refrigerated trailers to accommodate an expansion at its plant in Grand Rapids.
With recent automation upgrades and the continuing expansion made possible by the grant, the plant will be able to add a shift and double its processing capacity to 10 million turkeys annually. The additional capacity also will allow the plant to provide back-up for other facilities of similar size in neighboring states.
According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Poultry Companies Database, Michigan Turkey Producers slaughtered 2019 million pounds of live turkeys in 2021, making it the tenth largest turkey producer in the United States.
The cooperative previously installed automation equipment in 2018 and at the time announced that it would plan to install more of such equipment.
Michigan Turkey Producers was found as a cooperative in 1998 by 15 growers who wanted to bring their birds to market locally. The vertically integrated cooperative sells 45% of its products at the foodservice level, while 40% of its sales are at the retail level. The remaining 15% are export sales.
Also receiving Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion grants related to Vilsack’s announcement were Ohio-based International Food Solutions Inc. and Minnesota-based Benson + Turner Foods Inc.
