USDA Feasibility Study Consultant in Delaware

Under the OneRD guaranteed loan rule, an independent feasibility study is mandatory for Business & Industry guarantees above $1,000,000 to a new business. Section 5001.306(a)(3)(i) requires a study "prepared by an independent qualified consultant acceptable to the Agency," with its scope set by the Agency according to the complexity of the project and the borrower.

For loans of $1,000,000 or less, and for existing businesses, the study is discretionary. USDA may require one when the lender's analysis does not establish technical feasibility or economic viability, or when the project will significantly affect an existing borrower's operations and historic cash flow (§5001.306(a)(3)(ii)). Across OneRD programs, §5001.303(c)(4) allows the Agency to require an independent study whenever it cannot determine a basis for repayment from the five feasibility components: economic, market, technical, financial and management feasibility.

Community Facilities runs on a parallel standard. Every CF guarantee requires a financial feasibility report "prepared by a qualified firm or individual acceptable to the Agency," and an independent study is required above $1,000,000 to a new entity or an entity conducting a new activity (§5001.304). Projections for assisted living, skilled nursing and similar residential facilities must be based on no more than 90 percent occupancy.

Part 5001 defines the role directly. A qualified consultant is "an independent third-party person possessing the knowledge, expertise, and experience to perform the specific task required," and a feasibility study is a report "conducted by an independent qualified consultant(s) evaluating the economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed project" (7 CFR 5001.3). For B&I guarantees, the consultant must also be "acceptable to the Agency" (§5001.306(a)(3)(i)). In practice, that sets three tests for a Delaware project:

The NRLA-commissioned national assessment of B&I does not name Delaware among the ten largest states for 2015–2024. It places the lowest per-capita B&I states in the northeastern corridor. Delaware's documented USDA activity is concentrated instead in REAP. In USDA's October 2024 Delaware round, 12 grants totaled $2,360,487. Eight went to poultry farms, totaling $1,690,009 (71.6 percent) for 1,657.84 kW of solar, or about $1,019 of grant per kW (calculated). Delaware's lenders and borrowers already know how to work with Rural Development. Given that track record and the state's eligible geography, B&I appears underused relative to its potential.

B&I eligibility excludes any city or town above 50,000 population, measured by the latest decennial census, together with the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to it (7 CFR 5001.3). Wilmington, with 70,898 residents in 2020, is Delaware's only city above the threshold; Dover (about 39,500) and Newark (about 30,600) are well below it. The binding constraint in New Castle County is the Philadelphia urbanized area, which in the 2010 delineation held 481,625 Delawareans and ran from the Pennsylvania line south through Wilmington, Newark, Bear and Glasgow. On that geography, roughly half of Delaware's residents (46.4 percent, calculated) live in B&I-eligible areas. The Dover urbanized area contains no city above 50,000, so it screens as eligible.

As of late October 2026, USDA has not published a FY2027 OneRD guarantee fee notice; the FY2026 notice appeared five months into its fiscal year. A continuing resolution (P.L. 119-103) funds USDA at FY2026 levels through December 11, 2026. The President's FY2027 budget proposes terminating B&I, while the House-passed bill raises B&I loan authority to $2.0 billion. B&I credits are underwritten on the current schedule: an 85 percent guarantee under $5 million and 80 percent at $5 million or more, a 3 percent upfront fee and a 0.55 percent annual retention fee. Community Facilities guaranteed loans carry an 80 percent guarantee and a 1.25 percent fee, up to $100 million.

Delaware levies no state sales tax; businesses pay a gross receipts tax instead. Sussex County created a $4 million public-private economic development loan program in 2017, offering up to $1 million per business with at least 10 full-time employees and two years in operation, in zones along US 13 and US 113. Current availability should be confirmed with the county.