The Quebec government will spot the province’s ag lending agency another $233 million for loans, partly to go toward a new round of advances for hog producers.
La Financiere agricole du Quebec on Wednesday (Sept. 30) will roll out cash advances for about 1,395 hog operations enrolled in the province’s 2009 Assurance stabilisation des revenus agricoles (ASRA) program.
The new round of advances is expected to be worth over $128 million in total for the eligible farms, before AgriStability payments are taken into account, the province said in a release Thursday.
It also brings the total funds advanced to Quebec hog farmers for 2009 to $330 million, representing 60 per cent of their projected net payouts under ASRA.
The province is sensitive to the “particuarly difficult situation” in which farmers have found the hog sector, and also notes the Quebec hog sector’s efforts to boost its competitiveness, Ag Minister Claude Bechard said in Thursday’s release.
