{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/senators-amy-klobuchar-tina-smith-announce-expansion-of-meat-processing-facility-in-perham-mn/", "Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith Announce Expansion of Meat Processing Facility in Perham, MN", "2024-09-23", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "MINNEAPOLIS, MN \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN), members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, announced funding to double the capacity of a meat processing facility in Perham, MN. The $530,000 grant will go to Lakes Community Cooperative, a processing facility that provides its member owners with multi-species livestock processing services.\n\nHelping smaller, locally owned processing facilities like Lakes Community Cooperative to be competitive in today\u2019s market will help lower costs for consumers by spurring competition in an already consolidated meat industry.\n\n\u201cMinnesota\u2019s meat and poultry products help feed the nation and the world,\u201d said Klobuchar. \u201cThis new funding will make it easier for the Lakes Community Cooperative to bolster their capacity and get their high quality meats to new markets.\u201d\n\n\u201cA strong meat processing industry is critical to maintaining a stable economy in Minnesota, especially for Minnesota\u2019s farmers,\u201d said Smith. \u201cBy doubling the capacity of coops like Lakes Community Cooperative, producers will have another processing option. This helps farmers get a fair value for animals and also helps keep prices down for consumers at the grocery story.\u201d\n\nFour large meat-packing companies control 85 percent of the beef market. In poultry, the top four processing firms control 54 percent of the market. And in pork, the top four processing firms control about 70 percent of the market.\n\nKlobuchar and Smith have long worked to spur competition in America\u2019s meat processing industry. They secured funding to increase meat cutting and butchery career pathways for students by enabling the Minnesota State Northern Agricultural Center to expand its training facilities and purchase new processing equipment for Central Lakes College in Staples, MN. The Senators also secured mobile meat slaughtering and processing equipment for students enrolled in meat processing career pathways at both Central Lakes College and Ridgewater College.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.smith.senate.gov/senators-amy-klobuchar-tina-smith-announce-expansion-of-meat-processing-facility-in-perham-mn/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.0896391943097115, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}