National
Livestock Producers Association
Sheep & Goat Fund Establishes Loans for Additional Projects
Colorado
Springs, CO (Feb. 21, 2002)-
The National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA) Sheep &
Goat Fund established loans with 11 sheep and/or goat businesses,
for a total of more than $5 million in loans to help strengthen
the sheep and goat industries. The NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund
still has almost $9 million dollars available for loans at a current
interest rate of 5 percent.
The NLPA
Sheep & Goat Fund approved its first loan in September 2000;
the loan was established with a company in Michigan to construct
a state-of-the-art lamb finishing facility for the year-round
feeding of lambs to service the needs of a major packer's customer
demands for premium high-volume cuts and to smooth out kill floor
schedules.
Since
September 2000, the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund has written loans
for 10 additional projects including:
-
A
sheep dairy in upstate New York is using loan funds to purchase
milking equipment.
-
A
large regional wool-marketing cooperative based in Ohio is using
loan funds to enhance its sheep supply and wool marketing activities
for its members.
-
Three
lamb-breeding operations in Western Nebraska have secured loan
funds in order to increase their operations to better supply
replacement Polypay ewes for the out-of-season lamb production
market.
-
A
lamb processing/fabricating operation in Pennsylvania is using
loan funds to expand its physical building and add equipment
to increase its volume of high quality, branded lamb products
sold to high-end restaurants.
-
A
slaughter facility for lambs and goats in Pennsylvania is using
funds for building and equipment upgrades in order to increase
the facility's slaughter capacity.
-
A
loan for state-of-the-art wool scouring equipment and facilitation
of such will allow a Texas hat company to replace 1940 vintage
equipment. This acquisition will allow them to keep the first
stage of wool processing, scouring, competitive in this country.
Allowing the production of the best quality product at a lower
rate for the domestic producer.
-
A
goat dairy in north central New Mexico has received funding
that will allow the dairy to complete USDA Grade A certification
and become a viable cheese-making operation. The dairy will
then be able to more successfully meet a high market demand
where the local supply has been extremely limited.
-
A
loan to a Texas processing and fabrication facility will fund
the purchase of equipment needed for fabrication of lamb and
goat carcasses and the funding of construction of the building
to house the fabrication plant. This addition will enhance the
current operation to allow for block and case ready product
to be marketed throughout the United States.
"We
are pleased with the 11 projects that have been funded so far
and the committee has several other loans that are close to completion,"
Pierce Miller, Chairman of the National Sheep Industry Improvement
Center (Sheep Center) and member of the NLPA Sheep & Goat
Fund Committee, said. "However, a lot of money is still available
for loans, so I hope that members of the Sheep and Goat industries
will recognize that the NLPA Sheep & Goat Fund, with a 5 percent
interest rate, is an extremely competitive lending option."
In 1999,
an agreement was signed between the Sheep Center and NLPA that
enables the Sheep Center funds to be used in the sheep and goat
industries. The agreement allows NLPA to establish a revolving
fund that will be used exclusively for loans to the sheep and
goat industries with the following goals:
o To make capital available for enhancing production methods and
services.
o To improve marketing efficiency and product quality.
o To promote coordination and cooperation within the industry.
o To create opportunities for adding value to sheep and goat products.
"We
would like to emphasize the scope of projects the Sheep and Goat
Fund Committee is willing to consider for use of the Fund,"
Scott Stuart, President and CEO of NLPA, said, "Production
loans are outside of the scope of this project, but there is no
bias toward sheep or goats, meat, fiber or dairy - the Committee
will consider any project that encourages innovation and efficiency
in the sheep and goat industries."
According
to the terms of the agreement, the Sheep and Goat Fund Committee,
which consists of members of NLPA and representatives of the sheep
and goat industries, is responsible for the oversight of this
process. The Committee regularly reviews applications and is only
allowed to consider loans up to $1 million that are submitted
by eligible entities (sole proprietors are not eligible as written
into the legislation that established the Sheep Center).
For more
information or an application please contact the National Livestock
Producers Association at (800) 237-7193. More information and
the application are also available at www.nlpa.org.
####
The
National Livestock Producers Association, founded in 1921, is
an organization of livestock marketing cooperatives and credit
corporations representing more than 240,000 livestock producers
nationwide and in Canada.
