The B&I program guarantees rural business credit — and its regulation prescribes the feasibility analysis in more detail than any other federal lending program.
Financing a rural project? See our USDA feasibility study consultants service — built on the 7 CFR Part 5001 five-factor framework.
The Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program exists to pull commercial credit into rural markets the private structure underserves, and the guarantee is reserved for quality loans — the regulation states plainly that it is not intended for marginal or substandard credits. The feasibility study is how a projection-based rural project demonstrates it belongs in the first category.
Unlike the SBA’s principles-based approach, 7 CFR Part 5001 prescribes the analysis: five feasibility dimensions — economic, market, technical, financial, and management — with Appendix A to Subpart D enumerating the individual factors a compliant study must address. Wert-Berater structures B&I studies factor by factor, with a compliance matrix mapping each enumerated requirement to the section that satisfies it, because the National Office reviews against the list and an unaddressed factor is a returned study. Separately, certain Rural Development grant programs can pay for the feasibility study itself.
Three issues recur. Rural eligibility is checked too late — the property must sit in an eligible area, and the program’s definitions reward verification before the study is commissioned, not after. The technical dimension is under-evidenced — processing and manufacturing projects, which the program favors, need contractor capability, equipment condition, and commissioning schedules demonstrated rather than asserted. And the capital stack is presented without reconciliation — B&I deals routinely layer guaranteed debt over sponsor equity and sometimes grants, and the study must tie every source to every use.
Wert-Berater has prepared 823 USDA studies reviewed in agency financing since 1998, including B&I engagements from $1 million rural businesses to a $38,110,000 sugar refinery restoration. Standard delivery runs 10 to 15 business days from complete project data.
President, Wert-Berater, Inc. — independent feasibility study consultants since 1998. 4,000+ engagements completed across all 50 states and internationally, evaluating $41.2 billion in project value for SBA, USDA, EB-5, conventional, and institutional financing decisions. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and agency in every engagement.
+1 310-857-2443 ext. 800 · email · 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 · 111 Town Square Pl Ste 1238 PMB 657834, Jersey City, NJ 07310 · 539 W. Commerce St #8486, Dallas, TX 75208 · 66 W Flagler Street, Suite 900, PMB 12704, Miami, FL 33130
Schedule a ConversationIndependent feasibility studies since 1998 — 4,000+ engagements, $41.2 billion in evaluated project value. Standard delivery in 10 to 15 business days. Fiduciary duty to the lender and agency.
Legal disclosure. Wert-Berater, Inc. offices are mailing addresses only. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the firm has elected to work remotely; its office locations receive mail and are not staffed for visitors or in-person meetings. Headquarters mailing address: 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.
Wert-Berater, Inc. is an independent provider of feasibility studies and other related services. The firm does not provide financing or equity investment advice, and does not arrange, broker, or place debt or equity capital of any kind.
All appraisal assignments are performed by Bruce E. Jones, MAI, ASA-GC, BCA, CMEA, a member of the Appraisal Institute since 2006, a staff member of Wert-Berater, Inc. and owner of Special Purpose Realty Valuation.