Interest-free Limit Of App Set At $250,000

Mar 26, 2024

The Advance Payments Program (APP) is a federal program under the Agriculture Marketing Programs Act (AMPA), which provides agriculture producers with easy access to low-interest cash advances for livestock and crops.

Under the program, beef farmers can access up to $1,000,000 per program year in advances based on the value of their cattle. As announced today, the Government of Canada will cover the interest on the first $250,000 advanced to the farmer for the 2024 program year, and advances are repaid once the cattle are sold.

In 2022, the Government of Canada increased the interest-free portion of the Advance Payments Program from $100,000 to $250,000 for the 2022 and 2023 program years. As pressures compounded in 2023, the limit was further increased from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year.

In unison with the Canadian Cattle Association, BFO has been calling on the federal government to maintain the $350,000 interest-free portion of the program permanently to help support business cash flow needs in light of increased market volatility, interest rate hikes, and debt servicing costs that farmers are required to manage.

BFO administers the interest-free provision of the APP for the feeder co-operatives across the province. This provision is permitted because the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs guarantees the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program. In addition, the APP program can be accessed by Ontario producers through the Agriculture Credit Corporation.

Source : Ontario Beef

Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.