MORGANTOWN — The United States Department of Agriculture invested more than $100 million in West Virginia through rural development programs and services in the previous fiscal year.
Karama Neal, a federal administrator with USDA Rural Development, and Ryan Thorn, USDA Rural Development director for West Virginia, made the rounds Monday to see those dollars at work.
Their tour included a stop in Morgantown for a sitdown with partners Jeff Sokal and Doug Jantzi, the men behind Mountaintop Beverage. The company received a $25 million investment from USDA Rural Development’s Business and Industry Loan Guarantee program.
The program stimulates development and job production by mitigating risk for lenders — in this case Chicago-based Byline Bank — to the tune of an 80% guaranteed return.
“So we’re very pleased about the ability to provide that guarantee and put the full faith and credit of the United States Government behind a loan that is going to help grow jobs in West Virginia,” Neal said.
Mountaintop Beverage is a 330,000 square-foot state-of-the-art aseptic, shelf-stable food and beverage packaging facility being built in the Morgantown Industrial Park. It’s expected to be operational by the end of January with an initial workforce of up to 250.
Neal explained that while businesses don’t necessarily need an agricultural component to qualify for USDA Rural Development programs, they do need a rural connection.
“There are various definitions of rural,” Thorn added. For the Business and Industry Guarantee program, the community must have a population below 50,000.
“When the new census data is implemented next year, every area in West Virginia will be eligible for a program like the B&I program,” Thorn explained.
The roundtable discussion, which also included Russ Rogerson from the Morgantown Area Partnership and Monongalia County Commission President Tom Bloom, concluded with a tour of the Mountaintop Beverage site.
