One regulation, four programs — one study standard that survives USDA review.
Independent feasibility studies for projects financed under USDA’s OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative — Business & Industry (B&I), Community Facilities (CF), the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), and Water & Waste Disposal (WWD) — prepared to the enumerated feasibility factors of 7 CFR Part 5001. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower.
The OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative harmonizes four USDA Rural Development guaranteed-loan programs under a single regulation, 7 CFR Part 5001, with one application process, one set of forms, and one loan-note guarantee. The consolidation simplified the paperwork — it did not soften the underwriting. The regulation carries enumerated feasibility factors, and USDA reviews the lender’s file, including the feasibility study, before issuing the guarantee.
Guaranteed financing for rural businesses — acquisitions, construction, expansion, and working capital for for-profit and non-profit enterprises.
Essential community services in rural areas — healthcare, public safety, education, and civic facilities.
Renewable-energy systems and energy-efficiency improvements for rural small businesses and agricultural producers.
Drinking water, sanitary sewer, solid waste, and storm-drainage infrastructure serving rural communities.
Under 7 CFR Part 5001, new enterprises and projects whose repayment depends on projections rather than demonstrated historical cash flow generally require an independent feasibility study from a qualified, independent third party. The study is a primary underwriting document: USDA and the lender rely on it to test whether the revenue, the ramp, and the debt-service coverage that justify the loan will hold up after the project opens. A study that addresses the regulation’s enumerated factors — economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility — is what makes the credit defensible when the agency reviews the file.
Every determination is independent — never for sale to the party who benefits from a “feasible” finding. Every material number is derived and sourced. Every material risk is named and stress-tested. That is what full compliance means in practice, and it is why the study survives USDA review and third-party scrutiny. Wert-Berater has prepared more than 4,000 feasibility studies since 1998, across all 50 states and internationally, for SBA, USDA, EB-5, conventional, and institutional financing decisions.
For OneRD lenders, the firm also provides outsourced loan underwriting — independent credit analysis and credit-memorandum preparation in the lender’s own template — so the feasibility study and the credit file can align to a single standard without shifting credit authority.
Financing under OneRD? Tell us about the project and the program. We will confirm scope, turnaround, and a fixed fee before any work begins.
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