It’s been an expensive year for western Canadian producers. The price of everything from fuel to inputs to equipment to housing has gone up and rising interest rates have made paying for things more challenging.
“Farming is a ‘big in and big out’ kind of business and sometimes things don’t line up exactly,” says Shawn Jacula, who farms near Vermilion, Alberta.
FarmCash helps get money into western Canadian producers’ hands when they need it quickly, easily and with low — or no — interest. FarmCash is administered by the Alberta Wheat Commission, which helps distribute funds from the federal Advance Payment Program. Last year, the interest-free portion of the cash advances were increased from $100,000 to $250,000 until the end of the 2023 program year.
“I used the program in fall of 2022 to capture discounts on inputs without having to sell commodities before I was ready to do so,” Jacula says. “FarmCash gets the funds where they need to go, when I need them.”
The program helps provide farmers with much-needed cash flow and interest-free savings on more than 50 different commodities including all major crops, livestock and honey. The interest-free portion has increased to the first $250,000 until the end of 2023 only, to help farmers address recent cost increases. Growers can access up to a $1 million dollars, with the remaining amount available at TD prime minus .75 percent.
“The FarmCash cash advance program was developed for producers, by producers and first launched in 2018 in Alberta,” says Syeda Khurram, FarmCash COO. “It is now available to agricultural producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia as well. We have made accessing funds as easy as possible for producers with an online application process that they can complete in 15-20 minutes, e-sign and upload to reduce their administrative burden.”
Crop producers have 18 months to repay the advance, with livestock producers having 24 for repayment. The program has dedicated account managers to provide quick access to customer service should an applicant have any questions throughout the process.
“We have seen a lot of growth in the program with the recent increases in interest rates and the costs of goods,” Khurram says. “In 2022 there was a 36 percent growth in users of the program. With the spring season coming up, we are encouraging producers to consider how they can make best use of that money to grow and become more profitable.”
The spring FarmCash program will release funds on April 1st. There are no restrictions on how producers can use the funds. It can be for anything from inputs, to equipment, to paying off existing higher interest lines of credit.
“If an applicant needs advice on how to best use the funds they can contact their dedicated account manager, who all come from banking backgrounds,” Khurram says. “They can help them with the strategic planning part of their decision making so their cash advance has the most impact on their bottom line.”
Jacula decided to give the FarmCash program a try because of the online application process, and he was impressed with the user friendliness of the interface. He contacted FarmCash before filling out the form and was able to talk to someone right away and have all his questions answered before he went ahead and signed up.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had such an easy time accessing a quarter million dollars into my bank account,” he says. “I think this is an under-utilized tool for farmers. Everyone has a different reason to need discounted funds available at different times in their season. The interest-free aspect makes using it a very simple decision.”
The pay back system is easy with multiple ways to submit payment. For him it was a matter of choosing the right time to sell his crop.
“Sometimes the timing doesn’t work out when you need to get out there and spend money — the markets may not be right, you may have a rail issue or an elevator issue,” Jacula says. “But with FarmCash I had the funds I needed three days after I submitted my application. It was as simple as that.”
Producers can apply any time in advance of the April 1 program start, or at another point throughout the spring when they require funding. They can also apply in the fall when a second cash advance is made available Sept. 1 tied to grain in storage.
“We have been getting many enquiries from across Western Canada in the last couple of months,” Khurram says. “This is a good time for producers to access interest-free and lowest-rate cash for their operations. It’s simple, it’s quick, there is no cost to apply and there is always help available if they need it.”
More information on the program and how to apply is available at www.farmcashadvance.com. For answers to specific questions, contact the FarmCash program at 1-855-376-2274 or email farmcash@albertawheat.com.
The Advance Payments Program is a federal loan program administered by the Alberta Wheat Commission. It offers Canadian farmers marketing flexibility through interest-free and low interest cash advances.
