REYNOLDSBURG — The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) today announced that Just Natural Provision Company, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio will become the state’s 10th business to join U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program. Membership in the program will help the company expand their customer base into other states.

“In just three years, Ohio has been able to grow its cooperative agreement with USDA into opportunities for 10 small businesses,” said ODA Director David T. Daniels. “We are proud to participate in a program that’s working to increase the market for our small meat and poultry processors.”

The voluntary program allows small, state-inspected businesses with 25 or fewer employees to ship and sell meat products across state lines. Meat products produced in these establishments are inspected by the state, but are subject to the same regulatory requirements as those established by USDA’s federal inspection program. Prior to the establishment of this program, state-inspected businesses could only sell products within their own state.

Cooperative Interstate Shipment was established by the 2008 Farm Bill and finalized in 2011 by USDA. Ohio was the first state to enter the program in 2012, and leads the nation in the number of meat and poultry processors who are participating.

Ohio state-inspected establishments interested in shipping interstate should contact ODA’s Division of Meat Inspection at 614-728-6260.