Glanbia Cooperative Society recently announced details of a new €100m fund known as “MilkFlex” in partnership with other lending institutions such as Rabobank, AHDB Dairy has reported.
Glanbia milk suppliers can apply for loans of between €25k and €300k with a loan term of 8-10 years. The loans can be used for investment in on-farm productive assets such as livestock and farm infrastructure improvements.
A key feature of this fund is the flexibility in the repayment schedule of loans linked to movements in Glanbia Ingredient’s Ireland (GII) manufacturing milk price.
For instance, if the milk price falls below 28 cents per litre (cpl) for three consecutive months, loan repayments will be reduced.
Repayments will be suspended for a period if the milk price falls below 26cpl for three consecutive months or when the outbreak of a notifiable disease significantly reduces the milk output versus the previous year. GII’s milk price for February is just 24cpl. Likewise, if GII’s price goes above 34cpl for three consecutive months, loan repayments will increase.
Commenting, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney said: “I welcome this initiative which will help suppliers cope with global dairy market price volatility.
“While any decision to invest must be based on sound financial planning, it is important for farmers to be able to access affordable financing in a timely manner.
“I welcome the creation of this innovative funding mechanism and the role of State Agencies including the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund as a co-investor, with Rabobank, Finance Ireland and Glanbia Co-op in making it available to Irish dairy farmers.”
By: Cattle Site News Desk
Source: The Dairy Site