Manitoba’s agriculture minister chided a farm group leader last week for implying she only likes to support programs that don’t cost her government money.
Rosann Wowchuk gently scolded Don Dewar, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, for comments he made to a newspaper.
Dewar, who introduced Wowchuk as a guest speaker at the lobby group’s annual meeting last week, said he was misquoted.
Wowchuk used the opportunity to announce changes in a government lending program that make it easier for farmers to borrow money. She said the changes will end up increasing her department’s budget this year, although she could not say what the program will cost.
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The Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corp. will increase its maximum for direct loans to individual farmers to $400,000 from $325,000.
Partnerships and corporations may be eligible for as much as $800,000, up from $650,000.
Direct loans are used for buying land and breeding stock, constructing buildings, and consolidating debt, Wowchuk said.
The corporation will also raise its net worth cap for new clients to $650,000 from $500,000 to reflect rising costs. It will provide stocker loans for buying and feeding heifers and cows, and give producers the option of selling bred heifers in a nine-month period.
