Operating a small business with fewer than 10 employees in Northwest Missouri or Northeast Kansas can be a struggle that leaves participants with little time to keep up with new trends and new technology. Once again the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a program to improve that problem and its impact on small businesses.

“We need to embrace new strategies to help create a thriving rural economy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

“This new program will help provide access to capital, business-based training and technical assistance to the smallest of small businesses.”

The purpose of the program is to provide direct loans, technical assistance grants, and technical assistance-only grants to non-profit organization, tribes, or public institution of higher learning that support rural small business development. Funds are available through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Micro-entrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) authorized by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 that’s also known as the Farm Bill.

A Northwest Missouri regional agency or an institution of higher learning in the area could get a lift by applying for this program.

Missouri doesn’t have any agency participating in this program, said Neil Miller, the USDA regional director for Northwest Missouri.

Applications from MDO’s will be accepted this year until Sept. 30 and awarded on a quarterly basis. The total amount available in fiscal year 2010 is $45.1 million. Of this, $36.2 million will be available for loans, $7.6 million will be available for rural technical assistance grants, and $1.3 million will be available for technical assistance-only grants. More information on how to apply for funding can be obtained from a local USDA office.

A new approach

A new industry that hopes to create a revolution in the production of carbon black, a substance similar to graphite, has been in operation this year in Maryville, Mo. Carbolytic Materials Co. is using a proprietary method to produce the substance at its new production plant in Maryville. The plant also brought about 24 manufacturing jobs to the area.

The company’s new approach to carbon black production relies on discarded tires as the raw material, a commodity that has been abundant in some rural areas of Northwest Missouri. The process reduces the amount of used tires going to landfills, while simultaneously recovering carbon black and oil.

Tire manufacturers use carbon black. In addition the substance has a variety of industrial rubber applications, and it acts as a tinting agent in almost every product tinged black, such as hoses, gaskets, belts, rubber boots, roofing material, bags, plastic pipe and sheet plastic.

Already, the company unloads the oil by product at a reduced rate to Northwest Missouri State University, which uses the product as a heating oil. The company has been a tenant of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the university campus.

Marshall White can be reached at marshall.white@newspressnow.com.