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With big corporations monopolizing the meat packing and producing industry, local ranchers are finding it difficult to get a foothold. Thanks to a grant that came out this year, one local bison ranch is getting a helping hand. Go Roam Free Bison Bites, located outside Hot Springs, manages a heard of over 150 head of American bison and produces jerky. The operation tries to use local processers and aid in the local economy. Thanks to this new Value Added Producer Grant from the United Stated Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, Go Roam Free will be receiving significant monetary aid. The grant is equivalent to up to $250,000, over 3 years, of match funds that will meet every $1 spent by Go Roam Free with .50 cents.

The grant is specific to agricultural operations that have a value added product, such as finished bison jerky in the case of Go Roam Free. The grant is meant to help small to medium sized farms and ranches across the U.S. compete with bigger operations. Go Roam Free Founder and Marketing Director Brittany Masters applied for the grant two years ago. “Brittany Worked tirelessly to make it happen,” said owner and founder Jon Sepp. With some great effort in grant writing, and many hours spend keeping in touch with the government, the grant was finally released in October 30. The ranch was just recently awarded the grant which, according to Sepp, will “let us compete with larger corporations to have a space on the shelf.” Masters said, “It ensures that local ranchers will get a piece of that huge pie,” helping to promote the existence of small local operations.

The ranch plans to use the funds in their hiring operations and marketing to grow the product part of the business, as the grant funds can only be used on value added product aspects of the businesses that receive them. The Go Roam Free would like to expand the retail reach of their product line, nationwide, and has several promising perspective retailers. “Even one would be a huge deal for us,” said Masters. With the funds Masters estimates that their product now has come from a reach of 50 local retailers to nearly 500 nationwide.