INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — In a year filled with many surprises for Indiana livestock producers, including a late-spring freeze, a summer drought and excess rain in the early fall, an announcement from the state to provide much-needed financial aid couldn’t have come at a better time.

According to the ISDA and USDA, hay yields in 2007 are down 35 percent compared to last year due in part to a late frost earlier this spring and the extended drought during the summer. Conse-quently, the cost of hay is nearly twice as much this year as in 2006, and the additional cost was an expense many livestock farmers didn’t anticipate.

As a result, on Nov. 15, State Treasurer Richard Mourdock launched the re-establishment of the Treasurer’s Agricultural Loan Program (TALP) to provide $25 million dollars in financial assistance to distressed Hoosier livestock farmers who raise beef, dairy, sheep or goats.

“Lt. Gov. (Becky) Skillman and her staff at the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) brought to my attention the financial stress being placed upon the livestock industry and Hoosier farmers due to the recent drought and the sharp increase in hay prices,” Mourdock said.

TALP, as described by Mourdock, is a low-interest loan program in partnership with local banks and credit unions. The Treasurer’s Office purchases a certificate of deposit from a local lender at a reduced rate, and in turn the local lender provides a loan to the farmer at a reduced rate.

For the rest of 2007, the initial rate that lending institutions will charge farmers who qualify for a TALP loan is about 5 percent, nearly half of the original prime rate a farm borrower would normally pay.

In order to qualify, livestock farmers have to meet the following eligibility requirements: limited to a maximum loan of $100,000 to a borrower; residence, operation and livestock must be located in Indiana; livestock must be produced for commercial use; gross annual sales are $250,000 or less; funds must be used for the purchase of chemicals, feed, fertilizer, labor, livestock, production-related energy or vet fees.

Also, no loans may be made to an officer of a financial institution; no borrower can have more than one TALP loan; all loans made in connection with TALP shall have a fixed rate and be for a term of 12 months.

“In this new program, we want to make it clear that the Treasurer’s office is not ruling on the loan worthiness of a potential borrower, that is the loan officer’s responsibility,” he added.

Mourdock encourages producers who qualify to take full advantage of this reduced rate available for one year or until the $25 million is dispersed.

“If we get more demand after the $25 million is gone, we’ll look at this again,” he confirmed.

Beef industry perspective

In addition to state officials Mourdock and Miller, two Hoosier beef producers made their presence and support of the new program apparent, Joe Doub and Joe Rode.

“As the current president of the IBCA (Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc.), I’d like to thank the state of Indiana, Director of Agriculture Andy Miller and Trea-surer Mourdock deeply for putting together this program to help a lot of people that could use the assistance after the year we’ve had,” said Joe Rode, who owns and operates a 250 beef brood cow operation near Mooresville, Ind.

Beef producer Joe Doub, from Danville, Ind., operates a 140 cow-calf operation with his son Andrew and described their situation as losing nearly 50 percent of the farm’s normal hay yield due to the frost and lack of rain.

Due to a short supply of hay, Doub said he had to look at other options to feed his cattle such as corn silage, corn stalks, sorghum, and “anything that we could find to bale.”

“You also have to absorb expenses you don’t normally have, such as an extra expense in putting up corn silage, wrapping high moisture sorghum, extra fertilizer costs; or for some, the extra cost of buying hay somewhere else,” he explained.

Doub admitted he plans to apply for the program to offset some of his additional expenses.

“I am personally very thankful for the program today,” said Joe Doub. “The state has bent over backwards to work with us. We really appreciate this and believe it will work well for all livestock producers in the state of Indiana.”

However, according to Miller, not all livestock, will be covered under this new program, horses, exclusively, will not meet the requirements for the loan.

“This program is for people in production agriculture, not for individuals with horses used for pleasure,” Miller informed. To apply for a TALP loan, contact a local lending institution or for more detailed information, visit the Treasurer of State’s website at www.in.gov/tos