Focus on meat processing and rural business growth
A regional official with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says new federal loan programs and regulatory reforms could help expand small meat-processing operations across Montana.
Justin Everett, who oversees SBA operations in the Rocky Mountain region, recently visited several Montana communities while meeting with ranchers, processors, and lenders. Everett also attended the annual convention of the Montana Meat Processors Association, where small processors gathered to discuss challenges facing the industry.
During an interview on the radio program Voices of Montana, with Tom Schultz, Everett said access to capital remains one of the biggest hurdles for rural entrepreneurs looking to start or expand meat-processing facilities.
“Access to capital was the number one thing we heard in Montana,” Everett said. “If businesses had affordable financing, many said they could expand or open new operations.”
New loan guarantee aimed at farm-to-table businesses
To address that challenge, the SBA is launching a new 90-percent loan guarantee program designed for the farm-to-table sector. Known as the Grocery Guarantee Program, the initiative is intended to reduce risk for banks and encourage more lending to agricultural and food-processing businesses.
According to Everett, the program will help local lenders provide loans with better interest rates and longer repayment terms.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic food production and reduce supply-chain vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People suddenly realized what supply chains mean during COVID,” Everett said. “When you go to the grocery store, the food doesn’t just magically appear. It depends on a complex system of producers, processors, and transportation.”
Addressing consolidation and regulation
Montana ranchers and producers have long raised concerns about consolidation in the meat industry, where a small number of major companies control the majority of processing capacity nationwide. Everett said expanding smaller regional processors could help strengthen rural economies while improving competition.
In addition to financing programs, Everett said the SBA is encouraging small businesses to report burdensome federal regulations through its “Red Tape Hotline,” allowing the agency’s advocacy office to push for reforms.
Everett’s Montana tour included stops featured roundtable discussions with local business leaders, as events in Great Falls, Bozeman, Big Timber, and Lewistown, and Billings.
“This administration wants to hear directly from small businesses,” Everett said. “The goal is to remove barriers and make it easier for people to start or grow businesses right here in Montana.”
