On September 3, the 200th day after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack traveled to Louisa, Virginia to meet with local officials and community residents. The town has received a $3.3 million loan through the Recovery Act to help the community expand the processing capabilities of their wastewater treatment plant and improve local water quality. The project will create or save 50 jobs.
Like many rural communities across America, Louisa, population 1,500, is in need of investments and assistance to upgrade critical infrastructure. Mayor Jim Artz highlighted how important the USDA loan was for his the town. "Our infrastructure really needs some work, this is an old town," said Artz. "Conventional loans would have placed a tremendous load on our annual budget, because of this is a USDA loan, we are looking at a savings of $60,000 per year. This is big savings for a small town."
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES $71.7 MILLION IN LOAN ASSISTANCE TO HELP RURAL BUSINESSES
Guaranteed Loans Provided Through Recovery Act Funds Will Help Strengthen Rural Communities Throughout America
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $71.7 million in loan guarantees to assist 20 rural businesses in funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding announced today is being made available through USDA Rural Development's Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. Altogether, $1.7 billion is available to businesses across the country through Recovery Act Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program funding.
"The Recovery Act funds announced today will help businesses get access to the capital they need to launch and expand their businesses and help bring additional jobs to America's small cities and towns," Vilsack said. "President Obama and I are committed to building strong rural communities by helping businesses grow so we can put people back to work."
For example, in Georgetown, S.C., USDA Rural Development is guaranteeing a $3 million loan to enable a local gate and mounting-system company to restructure debt and purchase new machinery and equipment.
In Franklin County, Ohio, a farmer owned cooperative with local headquarters was selected to receive a $7.5 million loan guarantee. The loan will help provide business services to more than 50,000 livestock farmers in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. The Business and Industry loan will help the cooperative continue to maintain health insurance to its nearly 500 employees, many of whom live in counties with unemployment rates 125 percent greater than the national average and counties that have been affected recently by natural disasters.
Eligible Business and Industry Loan Program applicants include private businesses, cooperative organizations, corporations, partnerships, non-profit groups, federally recognized Indian tribes, public bodies and individuals. The funds will be targeted to creating and retaining quality jobs and serving difficult-to-reach populations and areas hardest hit by the current economic downturn. Learn more about the program by visiting www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/busp/b&i_gar.htm.
Many businesses and rural residents have benefited from loans guaranteed by USDA Rural Development. For example, in 2004 a $7.3 million USDA loan guarantee to expand Poplar Bluff Industries' Nordyne plant in Poplar Bluff, Mo., created 400 jobs and saved another 400. The plant makes HVAC equipment.
More information about USDA's Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government's efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov.
Below is a list of lenders that will be assisting rural businesses. Funding is contingent upon borrowers meeting conditions in the loan agreement.
Connecticut:
Rockville Bank, South Windsor, $650,600 loan
Illinois:
People's Bank & Trust, Pana, $1,590,000 loan
Centrue Bank, Streator, $1,600,000 loan
Iowa:
Bank Iowa, Clarinda, $2,000,000 loan
Bank Iowa, Clarinda, $2,400,000 loan
Kansas:
Fall River State Bank, Fall River, $700,000 loan
Kentucky:
Citizens Commerce National Bank, Nicholasville, $5,000,000 loan
Louisiana:
MC Bank and Trust, Morgan City, $2,200,000 loan
Maine:
Northeast Bank, Lewiston, $1,750,000 loan
Bangor Savings Bank, Portland, $1,452,000 loan
Minnesota:
RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, WI, $5,000,000
Nebraska:
Union Bank and Trust, Lincoln, $7,000,000 loan
Cornerstone Bank, Stromsburg, $290,000 loan
Ohio:
National City Bank/PNC, Columbus, $7,500,000 loan
The Park National Bank, Columbus, $6,129,700 loan
South Carolina:
Carolina First, Greenville, $3,000,000 loan
Wisconsin:
Heartland Business Bank, De Pere, $7,500,000 loan
RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $2,960,000 loan
RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $6,612,000 loan
RidgeStone Bank, Brookfield, $6,320,000 loan
USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development fosters growth in homeownership, finances business development, and supports the creation of critical community and technology infrastructure. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at www.rurdev.usda.gov.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
