The province of Ontario enhances its key loan guarantee program and its investment in marketing to increase exports and domestic sales.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Image by Alexa from Pixabay
The Ontario government is looking to strengthen the province’s beef sector by increasing financing available through the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program to $500 million.
The province is also investing in an industry-led market development program to increase domestic and international sales.
“Our province’s Grow Ontario Strategy commits to strengthening the province’s agriculture and food supply chain and increasing agri-food trade by eight percent per year,” stated Rob Flack, Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness. “The actions we’re announcing today support both of these goals and will help Ontario’s beef sector capture new opportunities now and in the future.”
Ontario’s agricultural loan guarantee programs operate with minimal government support and have safeguards to minimize the risk of a guarantee claim. The Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program was launched in 1990, and the government guarantee has not been used in the history of the program.
The expansion of the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program will see available funding for beef farmers increase by $240 million to $500 million. The program provides low-interest financing to support the short-term needs and long-term growth of feeder cattle co-operatives and their members. Financing is provided by private sector lenders, and the Ontario government guarantees the value of 25 percent of the loans.
The government is also doubling the maximum loan a farmer can access and making other changes to better support the industry. These include administrative changes that will allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness to move funding allocations more easily between feeder co-ops to better meet producer demand.
At the same time, the government is investing $2 million over four years in the Ontario Beef Market Development Program. This program was launched in 2019 by the Beef Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association.
Funding will be used to support activities that enhance the competitiveness of Ontario products at home and beyond our borders, support the expansion of existing Ontario beef brands, and aid in the development of new Ontario beef brands.
"We’re appreciative of the Government of Ontario’s commitment to these valuable programs, both of which play a significant role in our sector’s ability to maintain and grow a consistent supply of Ontario beef for our communities here at home and around the world. Increasing the government guarantee and the individual loan limits under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program will allow the program to better respond to the escalation in cattle prices and growing interest from young and beginning farmers, as well as existing farmers who value the program for its reliable access to affordable credit," said Craig McLaughlin, the President of the Beef Farmers of Ontario.
John Baker, the Director of the Ontario Beef Market Development Program, added: "Over the past five years, Ontario’s beef farmers have been heavily investing in an industry-led initiative to grow domestic and export markets for Ontario-branded beef, maximize the value of Ontario beef products, and share the important sustainability story of Ontario beef with the public and our customers. We have an outstanding product and are well positioned to increase the market share of Ontario beef in many key global markets, and this investment will help augment our market development efforts both domestically and internationally."
Eligible activities include participating in trade shows and trade missions and welcoming potential out-of-market buyers to tour Ontario beef farms and processing facilities.
These actions build on other supports to expand markets for Ontario agriculture and agri-food businesses, such as the $12 million Grow Ontario Market Initiative funded through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Ontario is home to 12,730 beef producers that marketed cattle and calves worth $1.75 billion in farm cash receipts in 2022. The province is the second-largest cattle producer in Canada.
For more information about OMAFA programs and services, contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre (AICC) by phone at 1-877-424-1300 or by e-mail at ag.info.omafa@ontario.ca.