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The milestones of 2007 were history-setting and 2008 was a
year of
wait-and-see. The Feeder Cattle Co-op Program is fortunate
to deliver
the interest-free component of the Advance Payment Program
(APP), as it has created increased activity in all Co-ops.
As of December
2008, almost $50 million of loans have been processed via
this program. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has paid
lenders
over $1.1 million in interest payments on behalf of Feeder
Finance
members. Last winter, the co-ops asked OCA to lobby the government to
increase
their guarantee from an $80 million dollar loan program to
one worth $130 million. The provincial government has made
no
commitment to increase the limit of the Feeder Cattle Loan
Guarantee
Program. There are ongoing evaluations for various industry
loan guarantee requests and the contingent liabilities they
incur in
light of the current economic situation that all parties,
including the
provincial government faces. Fortunately, the state of the
industry
and lower values of feeders has taken the pressure off this
limit - as
noted in the statistics below.
A year ago we were uncertain as to market conditions, the
state of
the industry and the ripple effect it would have on Co-ops.
Unfortunately
we have had some members that couldn’t survive these
challenging
times. The Board of Directors and staff of all Co-ops are to
be congratulated on the time and efforts they have put into
ensure
their Co-op continues to be viable. Last year had its share
of issues
but we are wiser for it.
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