The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) recently awarded tax credits to a pair of small meat processing companies to help meet growing consumer demand for locally sourced beef and pork and strengthen Iowa’s overall food processing supply chain and rural development.

Last year, as major meat processing plants across the U.S. shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the few bright spots were local meat processors and lockers that found time and manpower to process more animals than ever before.

The...