Nine Iowa lockers will receive a boost from a state grant program that will turn $355,000 in public funds into a nearly $2 million investment in equipment and facility upgrades.

The grants, part of the Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grant program, were announced last week by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig at Maxwell Custom Beef in Des Moines, one of the nine recipients. 

The cost-share grants require at least a one-to-one financial match from the businesses, leveraging the state’s investment to a total of approximately $1.94 million across nine counties.

“These grants are helping small meat processors across Iowa expand their operations to better serve both producers ...