Saskatchewan farmers unable to take off crops due to poor weather have been given more time and options under the federal Advance Payments Program (APP).
“With the unusual wet conditions in Saskatchewan, many farmers are left with no harvested crop to sell and no cash on hand,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release Monday.
“We’ve worked with participating producer organizations to give producers more flexibility in accessing cash advances to help them meet their financial obligations,” said Ritz, an MP from western Saskatchewan.
Read Also
Entomologist tests trap crops and marigolds to repel flea beetles at an Ag in Motion
An Agriculture Canada entomologist is experimenting with trap crops and marigolds at an Ag in Motion demonstration cropplot
Farmers who typically get an advance in the fall on their harvested crop will now be able get an advance on their unharvested crop right away, the government said in its release. To secure the advance, a farmer must have valid production insurance or participate in a business risk management program such as AgriStability.
Eligible farmers now have until Jan. 29, 2010 to apply for a pre-production APP advance on the expected market value of their unharvested crops, provided they have valid crop insurance.
The deadline for eligible producers to submit the post-production report to their APP administrator has also been extended to June 30, 2010.
The APP is a federal loan guarantee program that helps crop and livestock producers get easier access to credit through cash advances. Cash advances under APP are delivered through producer groups across the country.
