Prepared for lenders, CDCs, and federal agencies to SBA SOP 50 10 8, USDA RD Instruction 5001, and conventional underwriting standards. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower. More than 4,000 studies since 1998 covering $40.2 billion in evaluated project value.
VAPG feasibility studies serve a precise regulatory purpose: demonstrating to USDA Rural Development that the producer's value-added venture — processing, branding, direct marketing — has genuine market demand, operational viability at the proposed scale, and a quantified benefit accruing to the producer. The study is built to the program's evidentiary structure under RD Instruction 5001, because applications are scored on the quality of exactly this documentation.
The methodology establishes market demand through independent research, confirms operational feasibility of the processing activity, and quantifies producer benefit in the form the program requires, with every claim sourced. The firm has prepared VAPG-compliant studies across commodity and specialty programs, and the format is maintained to current program guidance.
Every Wert-Berater financial model is fully linked with no hardcoded values, so any reviewer can stress any input. Deliverables comprise a complete narrative report and the linked Excel model, with ten-year pro forma, sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent, interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent, and ratio analysis benchmarked against RMA and IBISWorld data.
SBA engagements are prepared to SOP 50 10 8, including its debt-service-coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global. USDA engagements follow RD Staff Instruction 5001 across the Business & Industry, Community Facilities, REAP, and Value-Added Producer Grant programs. Conventional engagements are built to the lender's stated coverage standard, typically 1.20x. Agricultural engagements are the heart of the USDA practice: B&I for rural enterprises, Value-Added Producer Grant studies to RD Instruction 5001 where producers integrate forward, and Farm Credit and conventional structures otherwise; job creation, producer benefit, and rural economic impact are documented to the agency standard.
The firm's USDA practice spans B&I, Community Facilities, REAP, and VAPG; its agricultural processing record includes winery, food-system, and cold-chain engagements nationwide. Independence is non-negotiable: determinations follow the evidence and are not revised under pressure, and studies are built to pass lender, agency, and third-party review without exception items.
Qualify a project. Tell us about the project and the program. We will tell you the truth about it — scope, timeline, and fee confirmed before work begins.
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