How much can I borrow?
Each dairy farmer can borrow between €25,000 and €300,000 over eight years. The loan term may be extended to a maximum of 10 years if repayments slow down as a result of price volatility or a disease outbreak (see below).
The partners in MilkFlex have committed to including qualified new entrants to dairy farming among the beneficiaries of the loans.
How can I use these funds?
The MilkFlex loan can finance working capital or investment in productive assets for the dairy farm, such as livestock, infrastructure (milking parlour, buildings, roadways, ect) or grassland improvement.
New areas of eligible funding compared with Glanbia's initial MilkFlex offering include technology such as robots and milk monitoring devices, and environmental investments, including renewable energy production and slurry management equipment.
Existing loans or cashflow facilities obtained since 1 March 2014 can be refinanced with a MilkFlex loan.
The purchase of land is excluded from this scheme.
Do I need to offer land as collateral?
No, this is an unsecured loan. However, an agribusiness manager with a dual financial and agricultural qualification sent by the lender Finance Ireland will visit each farm and assess the business case for their loan application. This will include an examination of the past 12 months' bank statements.
It was clarified at this week's launch that farmers established on rented land will need a lease of at least five years to qualify for a MilkFlex loan.
What are the interest rates and repayment conditions?
The interest rate is variable and currently set at 3.75% above the Euribor monthly reference rate. This is equivalent to 4.18% annual percentage rate (APR). An initial setup fee of 1.25% also applies.
Participating co-ops take repayments directly from the farmers' milk cheques. The amount due in a given year is broken down as follows:
High milk production season: June, July, August, September – 15% each month.Low milk production season: April, May, October, November – 10% each month.Off season: December, January, February, March – no repayments.Some events will trigger additional flexibility in the repayments:
If the co-op's price drops below 28c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are halved for six months.If the co-op's price drops below 26c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are suspended for six months.If the co-op's price stays over 34c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are increased by 25% for six months.If an outbreak of a notifiable disease reduces the farm's milk supply compared with the previous year, repayments are suspended for six months.Farmers can choose to make early repayments at any point to clear their debt faster.
Where do I apply?
Farmers must be members of a participating co-op and hold a milk supply agreement to apply for a loan. Glanbia is continuing to offer MilkFlex loans as part of its existing programme and other co-ops will contact their members when they have application forms ready.
Each co-op must agree terms and conditions with Finance Ireland and set up accounting and IT systems to deduct repayments from milk cheques, which is estimated to take a couple of weeks. Finance Ireland expects that it will be examining the first applications for this round of MilkFlex loans in June.
Read more
More co-ops roll out MilkFlex loans
Cashflow fears mount on farms
Glanbia’s MilkFlex receives €106m in applications
How much can I borrow?
Each dairy farmer can borrow between €25,000 and €300,000 over eight years. The loan term may be extended to a maximum of 10 years if repayments slow down as a result of price volatility or a disease outbreak (see below).
The partners in MilkFlex have committed to including qualified new entrants to dairy farming among the beneficiaries of the loans.
How can I use these funds?
The MilkFlex loan can finance working capital or investment in productive assets for the dairy farm, such as livestock, infrastructure (milking parlour, buildings, roadways, ect) or grassland improvement.
New areas of eligible funding compared with Glanbia's initial MilkFlex offering include technology such as robots and milk monitoring devices, and environmental investments, including renewable energy production and slurry management equipment.
Existing loans or cashflow facilities obtained since 1 March 2014 can be refinanced with a MilkFlex loan.
The purchase of land is excluded from this scheme.
Do I need to offer land as collateral?
No, this is an unsecured loan. However, an agribusiness manager with a dual financial and agricultural qualification sent by the lender Finance Ireland will visit each farm and assess the business case for their loan application. This will include an examination of the past 12 months' bank statements.
It was clarified at this week's launch that farmers established on rented land will need a lease of at least five years to qualify for a MilkFlex loan.
What are the interest rates and repayment conditions?
The interest rate is variable and currently set at 3.75% above the Euribor monthly reference rate. This is equivalent to 4.18% annual percentage rate (APR). An initial setup fee of 1.25% also applies.
Participating co-ops take repayments directly from the farmers' milk cheques. The amount due in a given year is broken down as follows:
High milk production season: June, July, August, September – 15% each month.Low milk production season: April, May, October, November – 10% each month.Off season: December, January, February, March – no repayments.Some events will trigger additional flexibility in the repayments:
If the co-op's price drops below 28c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are halved for six months.If the co-op's price drops below 26c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are suspended for six months.If the co-op's price stays over 34c/l including VAT for three consecutive months, repayments are increased by 25% for six months.If an outbreak of a notifiable disease reduces the farm's milk supply compared with the previous year, repayments are suspended for six months.Farmers can choose to make early repayments at any point to clear their debt faster.
Where do I apply?
Farmers must be members of a participating co-op and hold a milk supply agreement to apply for a loan. Glanbia is continuing to offer MilkFlex loans as part of its existing programme and other co-ops will contact their members when they have application forms ready.
Each co-op must agree terms and conditions with Finance Ireland and set up accounting and IT systems to deduct repayments from milk cheques, which is estimated to take a couple of weeks. Finance Ireland expects that it will be examining the first applications for this round of MilkFlex loans in June.
Read more
More co-ops roll out MilkFlex loans
Cashflow fears mount on farms
Glanbia’s MilkFlex receives €106m in applications
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