These specialists will usually let you know the score. In this case the people contacted a lawyer who specialized in USDA (et al) and he seems to have advised them to GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS RIGHT NOW.
Which they did.
They are now getting fined for not having called that same guy earlier.
You worked for the post office for 38 years. You have about as much connection to the private sector as Obama does. You’ve never run a small business and I am pretty sure you weren’t running a law practice on the side while you working for the post office. So spare me the advice about consulting with attorneys whenever you have the federal gov’t sticking its nose into every nook and cranny of one’s business.