Lifeline Foods Tells Federal-Aid Success Story
(St. Joseph News Press) July 1, 2004
By: Susan Mires

Corn flour, processed from grain grown in Missouri and Kansas, was poured into brown bags stamped with "USA."

It's evidence that Lifeline Foods has come full circle, said Bill Becker, chief executive officer of the St. Joseph company. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided grants to help Lifeline get started. Now, the company is selling flour back to the government to be distributed around the world in the Food for Peace program.

"The USDA value-added grant program is one of the reasons we've been able to succeed," Mr. Becker said.

In fiscal year 2002 and 2003, the cooperative received more than $600,000 in grants from the USDA. This week, state and federal officials are touring facilities in Missouri that have received the grants to see the money at work. The state has received $6.7 million since 2001 and is second only to California in the number of grants that have been awarded, said Greg Branum, state director of USDA Rural Development.

"Missouri set the stage for the entire nation to realize that in the Bread Basket, commodity production is not keeping rural America alive," Mr. Branum said.

The value-added producer development grants are awarded to companies that process farm products into food or fuel. At breakfast on Wednesday morning, the group also met with representatives of Triumph Foods. The pork-processing company owned by several large-scale producers received $480,000 to help with efforts to build a plant in St. Joseph.

USDA grants are not just about assisting farmers, Mr. Branum said. The value-added businesses, such as Lifeline and Triumph, boost the whole economy.

"The increase in jobs, the extra income that's generated, the turnover of dollars - that helps sustain communities and infrastructure in communities," he said.

Lifeline, which began operating in 2001, now employs about 100 people, Mr. Becker said. The cooperative sells corn flour to Frito-Lay and other food companies.

"One of the biggest challenges for a corn mill is selling the lower-end products," he said.

USDA grants were used to develop those products to be useful for industrial customers. Those corn byproducts are sold for use in items such as fertilizer.

"The more utilization of the facility, the better for producers," Mr. Becker said.

He noted that now the company can help the USDA by adding more competition to the bidding process for food-aid programs.

Jamey Cline of the Missouri Corn Growers Association said Lifeline was a model of an effective value-added business. The organization was sponsoring the tour, which also included visits to Missouri Country Fresh meat processing in Macon, MO., University of Missouri research sites and meetings with a number of investors in farmer cooperatives.

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