Agricultural Marketing Programs Act

Marginal note:Eligibility requirements for producers

• 10 (1) For a producer to be eligible for a guaranteed advance during a program year,

  • (a) the Minister must determine, taking into account any criteria prescribed by regulation, that the producer continuously owns the agricultural product, is responsible for marketing it and either is or was producing it;

  • (b) if the producer is an individual, the producer must have attained the age of majority in the province where the producer’s farming operation is carried on;

  • (c) if the producer is a corporation with only one shareholder,

    • (i) the individual who makes the application for an advance on the producer’s behalf must have attained the age of majority in the province where the producer’s farming operation is carried on, and

    • (ii) the shareholder must agree in writing to be personally liable — or a guarantor prescribed by the regulations must agree in writing to be liable — to the administrator for any of the producer’s liability under section 22 and to provide any security for the repayment of the advance that the administrator requires;

  • (d) if the producer is a corporation with two or more shareholders, a partnership, a cooperative or another association of persons,

    • (i) the individual who makes the application for an advance on behalf of the corporation, partnership, cooperative or association must have attained the age of majority in the province where the producer’s farming operation is carried on, and

    • (ii) each of the shareholders, partners or members, as the case may be, must agree in writing to be jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable — or a guarantor prescribed by the regulations must agree in writing to be liable — to the administrator for the producer’s liability under section 22 and to provide any security for the repayment of the advance that the administrator requires;

  • (e) the producer and, to the extent provided in the advance guarantee agreement, any related producers must not be in default under a repayment agreement;

  • (f) the producer must not be ineligible under subsection 21(4);

  • (f.1) the producer must demonstrate to the administrator that they are capable of meeting their obligations under the repayment agreement and that they are meeting all of their obligations under any other repayment agreement;

  • (g) the producer must not have given the agricultural product, or any amount to be received under a program listed in the schedule, as security ranking in priority to the security created by section 12;

  • (h) the producer must demonstrate that

    • (i) in the case of an agricultural product that is storable,

      • (A) it is of marketable quality and stored so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement, or

      • (B) if it is in the course of being produced or is not yet produced, either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12,

    • (ii) in the case of an agricultural product that is not storable,

      • (A) it is of marketable quality and maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement and either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12, or

      • (B) if it is in the course of being produced or is not yet produced, either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12, and

    • (iii) despite subparagraphs (i) and (ii), in the case of an agricultural product that is livestock, it is of marketable quality and maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement; and

  • (i) the producer must meet any additional requirements prescribed by regulation.

• Marginal note:Sharing security

  (1.1) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(g), the producer’s eligibility is not affected by the administrator sharing the security referred to in section 12 with another creditor in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the advance guarantee agreement.

• Marginal note:Eligible producers must make repayment agreements

  (2) An eligible producer must make a repayment agreement with the administrator under which the producer agrees

  • (a) to repay the advance

    • (i) by selling the agricultural product for which the advance is to be made to a buyer or buyers named by the administrator, and authorizing in writing each buyer to withhold from any amount they pay to the producer for each production unit an amount determined in accordance with the repayment schedule specified in the agreement,

    • (ii) by selling, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the agreement, the agricultural product for which the advance is to be made and paying directly to the administrator, for each production unit, an amount determined in accordance with the repayment schedule specified in the agreement,

    • (iii) by paying directly to the administrator any amount received under a program listed in the schedule in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the agreement,

    • (iv) by assigning to the administrator amounts payable to the producer under a program listed in the schedule in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the agreement,

    • (v) if the producer repays to the administrator an amount of the advance without proof that the agricultural product has been sold and that amount is greater than the amount prescribed by the regulations, by paying to the administrator, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the repayment agreement, the amount of interest owed under that agreement on the difference obtained by subtracting that prescribed amount from that repaid amount,

    • (vi) by any other means prescribed by the regulations, or

    • (vii) by paying the administrator using a combination of the means described in subparagraphs (i) to (vi);

  • (a.1) if the repayment agreement is in respect of an agricultural product designated by the Minister in the advance guarantee agreement, or an agricultural product in a class of agricultural products that is so designated, to repay the amount of the advance with respect to that agricultural product, with or without proof that it has been sold, before the expiry of the production period for which the advance was made;

  • (b) to ensure that

    • (i) in the case of an agricultural product that is storable,

      • (A) it is of marketable quality and will be stored so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement, or

      • (B) if it is in the course of being produced or is not yet produced, either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12,

    • (ii) in the case of an agricultural product that is not storable,

      • (A) it is of marketable quality and will be maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement and either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12, or

      • (B) if it is in the course of being produced or is not yet produced, either the amount of the advance is covered by a program listed in the schedule and the amounts that may be received under that program are assignable or the amount of the advance is covered by the security referred to in section 12, and

    • (iii) despite subparagraphs (i) and (ii), in the case of an agricultural product that is livestock, it is of marketable quality and will be maintained so as to remain of marketable quality until disposed of in accordance with the repayment agreement;

  • (b.1) if required by the advance guarantee agreement, to inform the administrator of the producer’s participation in any program listed in the schedule;

  • (b.2) if required by the advance guarantee agreement, to assign, if the producer is in default, any amounts payable to the producer under a program listed in the schedule to

    • (i) the administrator, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 22, and

    • (ii) the Minister, to the extent of the producer’s liability under section 23;

  • (c) to repay the amount of the overpayment, if any, of the advance within the period that begins on the earlier of the day on which the producer becomes aware of the overpayment and the day on which the administrator mails or delivers a notice to the producer stating that there has been an overpayment of the advance and ends on the expiry of the number of days set out in the agreement; and

  • (d) to comply with any other terms and conditions set out in the agreement, including terms and conditions governing the delivery of the agricultural product and the payment of interest, both before and after any default.

• Marginal note:Waiver

  (2.1) The administrator may, with the Minister’s approval and subject to any conditions specified by the Minister, waive those requirements of a repayment agreement that are referred to in paragraph 2(a) in order to permit a producer to repay an advance under the agreement if the administrator is satisfied that the agricultural product in respect of which the advance has been made has not been disposed of by the producer.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions governing emergency advances

  (3) Terms and conditions in the advance guarantee agreement relating to emergency advances must also be included in the repayment agreements of producers who receive those advances.

• Marginal note:Required information

  (4) The producer must provide to the administrator any information that it requests for the purpose of applying this Act.