At the Feeder Finance Annual General Meeting in Guelph on March 7, 2024, a motion was passed by the Provincial Feeder Finance Council for the executive to work with BFO to lobby for an increase to the overall funding cap and for increases to individual loan limits.
On March 25, 2024, at the BFO Board of Directors Meeting, the board approved asking the government to increase the Ontario government guarantee under the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program (OFCLGP) from $65M to $130M to allow total program lending to grow to up to $520M. Regarding individual loan limits, the board approved asking the government to allow the loan limit per individual member or corporation to be negotiated between each co-operative and its lender.
BFO met with staff from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) and its Minister’s Office on a number of occasions in early April to discuss our request, which was followed up with a formal submission. On May 15, 2024, some BFO directors and staff held a lobby day at Queen’s Park and discussed our request with Members of Provincial Parliament that we met with.
We were pleased that, on July 29, 2024, in Carleton Place, OMAFA Minister Flack announced an increase of the Ontario government guarantee under the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program (OFCLGP) from $65M to $125M to allow total program lending to grow to up to $500M. Individual loan limit for experienced individuals is increasing from $1M to $2M and for experienced corporations from $1.5M to $3M. The loan limit for inexperienced individuals is increasing from $100K to $200K. All of the changes announced will allow the program to better respond to the escalation in cattle prices, and growing interest from new and existing beef farmers who value the program for its reliable access to affordable credit.
BFO is appreciative of all the work the feeder finance co-operatives put in, especially the administrators, to ensure the program is responsive to its members. We know this was an extremely difficult year managing each co-operative’s allocation as the program neared the $260M ceiling cap.
BFO remains committed to working with the Provincial Feeder Finance Council and Ontario government to ensure the feeder finance program continues to provide reliable competitive financing for Ontario producers and support new entrants and young farmers.
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