$45 Million Allocated to Producers Under Advance Payments Program
CANADA - The Manitoba Pork Credit Corporation reports about $45 million have been allocated to pork producers from the four western provinces so far under the Federal Advance Payments Program, write Bruce Cochrane.The Advance Payments Program is a financial loan guarantee program provided under the Federal AgriStability Program that offers access to credit through cash advances.
Advance Payments Program Manager Ron Marchenski, with Manitoba Pork Credit, the agency administering payments to pork producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia (B.C.), says producers are eligible to receive advances of up to $400,000.
Ron Marchenski-Manitoba Pork Credit Corporation
The program actually is backed by the federal government with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Financial Guarantee Programs Division.
We actually deal with the federal government to obtain our client numbers and we do all our reporting on-line to them and we have been doing applications on a continuous basis.
The first 100 thousand dollars of the Advance Payments would be 100 thousand dollars that is interest free for one full year. Anything over 100 thousand up to the maximum of 400 thousand would be prime minus .625 and there is quite a bit of uptake on the interest bearing side.
We have done in Manitoba about 63 per cent of applications, about five percent in Saskatchewan, 26 in Alberta and about seven percent in B.C. for a total of about 271 applications so far.
Producers have until 31 March 2009 to apply for funding.
Mr Marchenski says that out of a $90 million program, about $45 million have been allocated over the past three months.