Ottawa, Ontario – Producers who have been unable to sell their crops due to rail transportation challenges now have more time to repay their 2013 cash advances under the Advance Payments Program (APP). Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today announced a Stay of Default on the repayment of advances for producers who received an advance on their 2013 crops through the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA).
The six-month Stay of Default, which extends to March 31, 2015, was granted at the request of the CCGA to provide producers with more time to repay their outstanding advances. Producers will also have the option to repay their APP advances in cash without penalty. Technical changes are also being implemented to make it easier for all producers to repay their advances by allowing them until the end of the production period to provide proof of sale on any commodity covered by APP.
Producers who received a 2013 APP advance from the CCGA are eligible for the Stay and are encouraged to contact the CCGA for more details.
Quick facts
- Last year’s Western Canadian crop, at 76 million tonnes, was 50 per cent higher than average. This volume put significant pressure on Western Canada’s grain handling and transportation system.
- The APP is a financial loan guarantee program that provides producers easier access to credit through cash advances. Under the APP, producers can receive cash advances of up to $400,000 on the value of their agricultural product, of which the first $100,000 in each crop year is interest free. The deadline to repay the 2013 APP advances is September 30, 2014.
- The CCGA administers advances for a number of crops including barley, beans, buckwheat, canaryseed, canola, chickpeas, durum, Ethiopian mustard (carinata), fababean, flax, hemp seed, lentils, mustard, oats, peas, rye, soybean, timothy hay (for export), millet, triticale, wheat, and winter wheat.
Quotes
“Our Government has taken immediate, concrete action to get grain moving faster and to improve the performance of the entire rail supply chain in order to help farmers get their crops to market. This extra time will give producers a bit of breathing room to sell their 2013 crop and meet their financial obligations.”
– Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz
“The APP is an extremely valuable program for farmers, helping them to market their crops more effectively. However, the shipping challenges that many farmers are facing right now make it almost impossible to meet the impending repayment deadline of September 30th. This six-month extension will be extremely helpful in alleviating the financial strain that many farmers across the West are facing today.”
– Brett Halstead, President of the Canadian Canola Growers Association and farmer from Nokomis, Saskatchewan
(Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)