News Release

Media Contact: Andy Solomon, (202) 720-4623
andy.solomon@usda.gov
Public Contact: La Jaycee Brown, (202) 720-9741
ljbrown@rdmail.rural.usda.gov

USDA LENDS $77 MILLION TO BOOST RURAL BUSINESSES
Effort Supports President Clinton's New Markets Initiative Through Job Creation

WASHINGTON, July 21, 1999 -- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced that USDA is awarding $77.4 million in loan guarantees to start or expand rural businesses in 13 states, creating or saving about 2,420 jobs in areas of high unemployment.

"Jobs are the key to President Clinton's New Markets initiative, and most of these loans are aimed squarely at creating or saving jobs in rural areas that have yet to benefit from the strongest U.S. economy in decades," Glickman said. "We hope that the willingness of USDA and its partner lending institutions to invest in depressed rural areas will encourage more private industry to follow suit."

Under the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program, administered by USDA Rural Development, business owners first seek loans from a private lending institution. Lenders, in turn, seek a guarantee for up to 90 percent of the loan from USDA Rural Development.

North Carolina received more loans than any other state, where USDA will finance seven businesses for a total of $13.1 million, which will create or save 242 jobs. California was second and will receive $10.9 million in USDA-backed loans, which will create or save 630 jobs.

"Although most of these rural communities suffer from high poverty and unemployment rates, they still have enormous human resources and economic potential that can be developed if we invest in them," said Jill Long Thompson, under secretary for USDA Rural Development.

Glickman cited the following examples of businesses for which USDA is providing funding:

• $2.5 million to help Tangora Seafoods establish a sustainable, commercial fishing operation and an export/import distribution business in Oahu, Hawaii. The project will create 92 jobs in an area that has suffered heavy unemployment due to closure of sugar production facilities.
• $4.07 million to help Northern Refrigerated Transportation Inc. consolidate its operations in a modern, refrigerated-trucking facility in Turlock, Calif., which will provide shipping services to family farmers in the San Joaquin Valley. The county's unemployment rate is about double the state average. The project will create or help retain about 174 jobs.
• $3.5 million for Cardinal Plaza LLC to build a Food Lion supermarket and several other shops and restaurants in a predominantly low-income, minority neighborhood in Henderson, N.C. This will be the only supermarket serving the neighborhood. The project will create 45 new jobs.
• $4.1 million for QDC Inc. to expand a pre-plated meal business in Charleroi, Pa., which serves schools, senior citizen centers, supermarkets and convenience stores in the Washington County area, which suffers high unemployment rates. The project will create 40 new jobs, boosting total employment to 117.

Secretary Glickman, who earlier this month accompanied President Clinton on the "New Markets Initiative" tour of some of the nation's poorest areas, said USDA will continue to focus its rural development programs on severely depressed rural areas, with the emphasis on support for projects that create jobs and can trigger related economic growth.

Under its Business and Industry program, USDA Rural Development provided about $2 billion in total during 1998 and 1999 to finance rural businesses. USDA Rural Development programs are estimated to have created or saved more than 200,000 jobs last year alone, of which about 44,000 jobs were created or saved by the Business and Industry program.

Editor's note: The Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Projects' List is available to view here.

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