Opportunities for meat processors, fertilizer producers and conservation efforts aim to help rural middle class.

Through a flurry of meetings and announcements last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack revealed several new funding plans and grant awards to small- and mid-sized meat processors, small-scale fertilizer producers and farmers who utilize conservation practices.

During a speech at the 2023 Commodity Classic, held last week in  Orlando, Vilsack said  the funds are aimed at strengthening the middle class in rural parts of the country to keep school districts from consolidating and rural healthcare from shutting down. 

“This is a...