Changes have been made to the New Entrant Assistance Program to offer more help to those who want to start a dairy farm in Alberta.
The program reduces some of the costs of starting a dairy farm by loaning dairy production quota to successful applicants. Since the program started in 2011, it has helped establish 12 new dairy farms into the province.
“Sustainability is a large focus for dairy producers and these new guidelines are reflective of that,” said Tom Kootstra, chairman of Alberta Milk. “It’s a long-term investment on behalf of all dairy producers in Alberta.”
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Highlights of the changes to the 2015 New Entrant Assistance Program are:
- New entrants will receive up to 25 kilograms/day of total production quota (up from 15 kilograms/day) on a 2:1 proportional basis between owned and loaned quota to help kick-start their new business. This loan translates to enough quota to milk about 20 to 25 cows.
- The term of the program has been extended from seven to 10 years to offer greater flexibility. The loan gradually expires starting at the beginning of year seven and is reduced to zero at the end of year 10. While receiving this quota loan, new entrants can expand up to 70 kilograms/day of total quota holdings.
All current and 2015 successful applicants will be eligible under the new guidelines. Alberta Milk will be accepting new applications from April 1 to June 30.
For more info, visit albertamilk.com or call 1-877-361-1231.
