Logan » About 15 state and federal bureaucrats showed up to a seminar in this northern Utah community late Thursday to hear concerns from rural farmers and business owners and to explain how the government can help them with low-interest loans and outright grants.

But when only three people showed up, the officials spent more than two hours talking to each other.

Businessman George Whitney was the only individual who relayed farmers' concerns during the troubleshooting session called to help officials get money into the hands of people who can create jobs.

Whitney, who performs earth-moving services for farmers, said government programs are unpredictable and inconsistent. Worse, the lag time in getting loans often makes it difficult or impossible for intended recipients to make long-term plans.

"With all the changing priorities of the government, if you ever get any money, you will have earned it," he said. "People aren't coming out to these kinds of meetings because they're so frustrated that they've gotten to the point they have better things to do with their time."

Joe Fuhriman, a cattleman in Cache Valley, on Friday said he was not aware of the meeting and wondered how well the forum had been advertised.

"It's also difficult to get money because of how much time you have to spend, and even after you become eligible you have to meet so many restrictions that sometimes it's not worth it," he said.

Although nearly 30 people attended a similar forum in Cedar City, officials acknowledge that U.S. Department of Agriculture loan and grant programs for farmers and rural development are not well-known.

Last year for example, no one in the state applied for federal grants that would have funded feasibility studies for farmers to incorporate so-called value-added plans. Value-added products pay substantially more than raw commodities. Instead of selling fruit, for example, farmers could expand their operations to make jams, which in turn bring in more income.

Grants are still available up to $80,000 for a single operation, said Dave Conine, director of Utah's USDA Rural Development office.

"A feasibility study is a working document that can be used to develop a business plan, which banks require for loans," he said. "There's money to be had for this and many other rural development programs."

Conine stressed that rural communities are prime areas where new businesses can flourish.

"The old rules on economy of scale that required massive production facilities are largely obsolete," he said. "Small, efficient agricultural operations and value-added businesses can respond to shifts in the marketplace much more quickly than a huge corporation with boards of directors in cities hundreds of miles away."

Twenty-five Utah counties are eligible for USDA loans and grants. Although funds are restricted to areas with lower population densities, there are pockets of eligibility along the populous Wasatch Front -- just outside the Interstate 15 corridor -- in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Box Elder and Weber counties.

Loan programs aren't well known because the agency has no money for advertising. Rural residents often find out about programs through word of mouth or when a state or federal agency refers them to the USDA Rural Development office.

dawn@sltrib.com