Farmers should reach out to a bank as soon as cashflow issues become apparent to resolve their financial challenges, banks have advised.

Overdraft extensions, short-term loans, reducing repayment amount on existing loans and retrospectively financing recent investments made from cashflow were among the lending options the banks at an IFA farm finance meeting on Monday night in Mullingar raised to farmers.

AIB agriculture adviser Eamonn O’Reilly said farmers’ first assessment of their cashflow borrowing needs should be knowing how much cash they need to ensure that they can get the right fix.

“In order to get the right fix, we need to know what the problem is first of all.

“If we know what the problem is, how good the problem is, how bad the problem is, we can look at getting to solve this situation,” he said.

A proactive approach to flagging issues with a bank is needed, as “early engagement is key” to preventing cashflow struggles “turning into a bigger problem”, according to Bank of Ireland agri development manager Mark Glennon.

PTSB’s Ken Ganly encouraged farmers to reach out to “know where your business is at” and provide figures to support an application.