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Banks have stopped accepting applications for the Future Growth Loan Scheme (FGLS), with AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank confirming their funds are fully committed.
The fund was doubled to €120m for farmers last November, with dairy farmers leading the charge on loan applications to date.
Loans had an initial maximum loan interest rate of 4.5% for loans less than €250,000 and 3.5% over €250,000.
The loans are for terms of eight to 10 years and unsecured up to €500,000.
A spokesperson for the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) told the Irish Farmers Journal that 2,900 loans have been approved, but so far only 964 recipients have drawn down funds. The SBCI stated that farmers accounted for 54.4% of drawn-down funds.
This totals €71m for primary agriculture, with an expectation that more money will be drawn down by farmers.
Overall, the average loan size is €136,000.
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