Source: Alberta Wheat Commission
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) said today it looks forward to providing enhanced cashflow management options to Alberta farmers under changes to the Advance Payments Program (APP) of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).
AWC administers advances on over 45 commodities in Alberta through its FarmCash program.
The federal government has announced that low interest loans available to individual producers will increase to a maximum of $1 million per program year from the current level of up to $400,000 for all commodities. The interest-free portion will increase to a maximum of $500,000 per program year on canola only from the current maximum of $100,000. The interest-free limit for other commodities will remain at $100,000.
AWC offers the interest-bearing portion of the loans at prime minus 0.5%. The commission will be working closely with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to implement the program changes and at this point has not received direction from the government on the timing and specifics.
The recent disruption of canola shipments to China has put increased cashflow pressure on farmers and AWC is pleased to be able to provide this service in partnership with the Government of Canada.
“Ultimately we want to see the resumption of Canadian canola shipments to China,” said Gary Stanford, Alberta Wheat Commission Chair. “The program changes will provide cashflow assistance to farmers in the short-term but a comprehensive strategy to maintain access to markets for Canadian crops is needed.”
Stanford noted shipments of Canadian durum to Italy and peas to India have also been severely impacted recently and Saudi Arabia is refusing to accept feed barley exports from Canada.
Farmers who wish to apply for FarmCash should visit www.farmcashadvance.com to download the form directly, or call our office at 1-855-376-2274 or send an email to farmcash@albertawheat.com for direct service.
To learn more about FarmCash and how we can help manage your financial obligations, visit www.farmcashadvance.com.
FarmCash is owned and operated by the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and the commission is an official administrator of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advance Payments Program (APP).
