Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 3/12/18



The U.S. Small Business Administration reviewed loans to poultry growers that were called into question by its Office of the Inspector General, and confirmed that “they were correctly made in accordance with agency policy at the time,” the agency said in a statement.

The SBA Inspector General had examined a sample of loans made to poultry growers as small businesses, from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2016. The OIG’s office reported that the growers’ business decisions were so dictated by the demands and strategies of the integrated processors with whom they contracted, that the growers did not qualify as “small businesses.”

The report affected some $1.8 billion in loans made to growers in the time period examined.

Because the SBA determined that the loans were guaranteed correctly in accordance with policy, the loan guarantees will continue to be honored and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

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