Interest free loans of up to $50,000 are available again this spring to
individual grain and vegetable producers to help get the crop in the
ground.
The federal Spring Credit Advance Program introduced in 2001 has been
extended through 2002.
Producers of eligible crops can apply for the loans through their
commodity organizations, such as the Canadian Wheat Board and
provincial pulse producer groups.
The loan is paid out in two parts.
Up to 60 percent is available before seeding. The rest is available
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after producers prove they have planted the crop and paid crop
insurance premiums.
Producers must repay the loan by the end of December 2002.
However, if the crop remains stored, the loan can be transferred to a
federal commodity advance payments program, which applies to
commodities that can be stored in their harvested condition. This
program is also operated by producer organizations.
The fall cash advance allows farmers to sell their crop throughout the
crop year rather than forcing them to accept harvest season prices.
Federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief said the program is part of
a “total agriculture policy framework” that is being created to “help
farmers deal with the drought and the other challenges that they are
facing this year.”
