Pre-Applications For 2018-19 Cash Advance Payment Program Now Being Accepted

 

Farmers and Ranchers who may need a little extra financial help can access funds through the federal government’s 2018-2019 Cash Advance Payments Program.

 

The Cash Advance program is administered through the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA).

 

CEO Rick White says they’re taking pre-applications right now while farmers have the time to do the paperwork.

 

"Through CCGA, we now offer advances on about 45 different commodities including all field crops and a lot of the livestock communities as well," he said. "It's kind of a one-stop shop where farmers can take advance out of probably just about anything they may have on the farm. That gives them a lot of flexibility in terms of the amounts that their eligible for and the way that they can pay the advances back."

 

Farmers interested in applying can send in their pre-application now, so they have the money in early April.

 

White says under the program, farmers are eligible for a cash advance, of up to $400,000, with $100,000 of that being interest-free.

 

"Typically we usually issue about 10,000 advances under the program in any given year, and that was the case for this past year," he said. "The total value of the program on any giving year, we run from 1.3 to 1.6 billion dollars a year and this year was just under 1.4 billion so it was right kind of the average mark for us."

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.