WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — Last week at the White House’s “Celebration of Agriculture,” Trump Administration officials hosted American farmers and ranchers in Washington to highlight a slate of new policy priorities aimed to support U.S. Agriculture, including a newly announced effort to support farmers and strengthen the food supply chain.
President Donald Trump unveiled the “Grocery Guarantee Program,” which includes a 90 percent loan guarantee designed to expand access to capital for farmers, increase domestic food production, and help lower grocery prices. The program will be overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler joined us on Tuesday’s Market Day Report to provide more details on the initiative.
In her interview with RFD NEWS, Loeffler outlined what the program entails and who is eligible to participate. She also discussed how the effort is intended to support increased domestic food production and address grocery costs.
“The SBA is a small business lender, and there’s no one that is more representative of America’s original small business than the American farmer,” Loeffer said. “And I know that means so much to me as a product of a five-generation family farm. And so I was thrilled when President Trump, on Friday, announced the Grocery Guarantee, which the SBA is highlighting across the country.”
She noted that the major highlight of the Grocery Guarantee program is the 90 percent government-backed guarantee on every small business loan.
“Last year, we put out $7 billion to rural communities,” she explains. “This Grocery Guarantee means that each loan to a producer — a farmer, a logistics operator, a trucking company — has a 90% government guarantee. And these loans are given out through the community lenders. And we all know how important our rural lenders are — our local community banks — to farmers. Now, that bank has a 90% government guarantee.”
She also explained how this differs from previous loans administered through the SBA: “So, normally, our core 7(A) loan program has a 75% government guarantee, which puts the lender in the first-loss position for 25%. Now we’re guaranteeing that 90%. That means that the lender is more likely to make that loan. It gives the farmer — the rancher, the producer, the trucking company — much more access to capital because of that guarantee.”
Loeffler addressed concerns from within the agriculture industry regarding access to capital and whether the program reflects direct feedback from farmers.
“It will help rush capital to rural America to build on what we did last year in President Trump’s first term, in getting capital in, then ramp up this food supply, and bring down the cost of groceries,” Loeffler said. “So we’re delighted to be working with Secretary Rollins and with President Trump to deliver more access to capital in rural America. [...] At a time when, frankly, we’re at the start of planting season, the demand for capital has never been higher. And through the SBA, because of the government guarantee, we’re able to offer low-cost loans, affordable interest rates to our great agriculture community.”
Loefller also explained who is eligible for the loan program across the country — which extends across the ag supply chain.
“Well, the great news about that is there are so many types of people within the agriculture and food production supply chain eligible — be it grain and oilseed farmers, our great fruit and vegetable producers, trucking companies, long- and short-haul, and everyone in between,” she said. “So I would encourage folks to contact their local lenders, see if they’re participating in the program. Certainly, our website, sba.gov, has all of the details.”
Additionally, she spoke about what went into creating the program and the type of feedback the SBA has received so far. She also explains how this program’s impact will extend to consumers on the other end of the supply chain.
“President Trump understands that access to capital is vital for small businesses, for our ag community, and it lowers the cost of goods on grocery shelves,” she said. “And so, with working family tax cuts, with deregulation, with fair trade, and now greater access to capital and energy dominance, we’re doing everything we can to bring down the prices that dramatically increased under the Biden Administration. And we are seeing real progress toward that end. And this is just the beginning. We’re really in kind of the first year of this administration. There’s a lot more to come, but it’s incredibly exciting.”
Loeffer said the program, and the SBA, is driven by the private sector — getting government out of the way and getting capital, tax cuts, and regulatory relief.
“You’ve seen what we’ve done with DEF — diesel exhaust fluid. I’ve worked with Secretary Rollins and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on that,” she said. “All of these things are private-sector-oriented, and it has been a great honor to work with Secretary Rollins on so many initiatives that are driven by the agriculture community to rush relief in whatever way we can, and make up for very tough years under the Biden Administration.”
Finally, Loeffler explains how to start the process of applying for a loan through the Grocery Guarantee program, and the first steps producers need to take to begin the application process.
“Well, certainly sba.gov is a good starting point, but your local lender — look, we work with lenders across America, and we have a huge focus on rural communities right now because they have been left behind, and that is not happening under President Trump. [...] And so we look forward to more conversations about getting community banks involved, because — look, community banks are at the heart of our local rural communities — they mean so much. People still walk into their local bank. They have close relationships, and they’re vital to securing that capital that we need to grow our Main Streets and our agriculture sector.”
USDA Secretary Rollins and Loeffler are close — Rollins even mentioned they, along with HSS Secretary Bobby Kennedy, are best friends within President Trump’s cabinet. Loeffler echoed the friendship as she looks ahead to working with Rollins on more initiatives that support rural Americans.
“Under Secretary Rollins’ leadership, we are bringing back a focus on rural America,” she said. “And certainly, we encourage banks to reach out to us if they want to get enrolled in the SBA programs if they haven’t previously. Because [SBA] did $7 billion in rural lending last year. We broke an all-time record for SBA lending at $45 billion. So you can see rural America is a growing part of that. [...] And rural communities not left behind — that really felt like the message on Friday at the White House. A great gathering of farmers, a lot of great announcements, including this program.”
LEARN MORE: www.sba.gov
