Over 40 per cent of Ontario’s beef farmers that access the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program are under the age of 40, and that figure is part of the motivation behind the government significantly increasing the money set aside for the program and doubling the amount a producer can qualify for.
Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness Rob Flack says that he’s been on a “listening and learning” tour since taking on the portfolio in mid-June.
“One of the first things I heard from the Beef Farmers of Ontario was the need for this program and to grow the program,” he says. “We were at $260 million and we increased it to $500 million, why? I think most people know in the cattle industry, the price of beef, the price of live cattle, have gone up very much in the last few years.”
First launched in 2019, the feeder loan program allows for financing by private sector lenders where the Ontario government guarantees the value of 25 per cent of the loans. For cattle producers building their career or expanding their business, this added collateral and access to financing can make a huge difference, especially when prices are high, like they are now.
Flack says that he’s optimistic for the future of the cattle-feeding sector in the province, and support for the feeder financing and other programs are a reflection of that. “Everything grown in Ontario continues to be of the utmost importance to our government, because people need to eat and we also export more food than we consume. $26.2 billion left the province last year, of which 80 per cent went to the United States. It’s an important industry to the cattle industry — from farm gate to the consumers’ plate.”
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