Advance Payments Program

The Advance Payments Program is a federal loan guarantee program which provides agricultural producers with easy access to low-cost cash advances.

Under the program, you can access up to $1,000,000 in total advances based on the value of the eligible agricultural products you will produce or that you have in storage. The Government of Canada pays the interest on the first $100,000 of your advance (the first $250,000 for 2024). You make repayments to the advance as you sell the agricultural products, with up to 18 months to fully repay the advance for most commodities (up to 24 months for cattle and bison).

APP advances can provide you with cash flow to meet your financial needs until you are able to sell your agricultural products. The program can provide marketing flexibility by allowing you to sell your agricultural products based on market conditions rather than the need for cash.

APP advances are available through 27 participating producer organizations, that is, APP Administrators, across Canada.

• To help finance the operating cash flow needs of Western Canadian farmers.

The Advance Payments Program is a federal loan guarantee program which provides agricultural producers with easy access to low-cost cash advances.

Under the program, you can access up to $1,000,000 in total advances based on the value of the eligible agricultural products you will produce or that you have in storage. The Government of Canada pays the interest on the first $100,000 of your advance (the first $250,000 for 2024). You make repayments to the advance as you sell the agricultural products, with up to 18 months to fully repay the advance for most commodities (up to 24 months for cattle and bison).

APP advances can provide you with cash flow to meet your financial needs until you are able to sell your agricultural products. The program can provide marketing flexibility by allowing you to sell your agricultural products based on market conditions rather than the need for cash.

APP advances are available through 27 participating producer organizations, that is, APP Administrators, across Canada.

How much you can receive

Under the APP, you may be eligible to receive up to $1,000,000 per program year, with:

• the federal government paying the interest on the first $100,000 per program year (the first $250,000 for 2024)
• preferential interest rates on the remainder

Your cash advance is calculated based on up to 50% of the anticipated market value of the eligible agricultural products that you will produce or that you have in storage.

While you can have more than one advance outstanding, including more than one interest-free advance, you cannot have more than $1,000,000 outstanding at any one time.

What you need as security for an advance

Your APP advance must be secured. The security required will depend on the type and state of the agricultural product at the time you apply.

• The agricultural product on which the advance is based is always required as security.
• For advances on agricultural products that are in production or are non-storable and for advances on animals or animal products, additional security is required. This includes the potential proceeds from an eligible business risk management program (for example, AgriInsurance, AgriStability or Farm Income Stabilization Insurance [ASRA] in Quebec) and/or another acceptable form of security.

Step 2. Who is eligible

Producers

To be eligible you must be:

• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident; or
• a corporation, cooperative or partnership of which the majority interest is held by Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

You must also:

• be the age of majority in the province of operation;
• have produced/be producing and own the agricultural product; and
• be responsible for its marketing.

For a corporation, cooperative or partnership, one or more of the stakeholders must be the age of majority in the province of operation.

Eligible agricultural products

The majority of agricultural products are eligible for an Advance Payments Program (APP) advance, including:

• Crops
• Grains and oilseeds
• Fruits and vegetables
• Livestock (cattle, hogs, sheep, bison, rabbits, red deer, boar, goats, elk)
• Certain breeding animals intended to be marketed during the production period (cattle, goats, sheep, hogs)
• Bees intended to be marketed during the production period
• Fur pelts and cervid antler velvet
• Honey and maple syrup

If you do not see your agricultural product listed above, you should contact an Advance Payment Program Administrator to discuss whether or not an advance could be issued on the product.

Livestock that have been sent for slaughter, animals under supply management (for example, dairy cows and poultry), and breeding animals that are not intended for market during the production period are not eligible under the program.

Log in with Google

OR

Get Started to Apply