Cultivate, the collaborative credit union finance lending platform for farmers, has announced today (Thursday, September 9), that six more credit unions have joined the platform.

This brings the availability of Cultivate loans to 111 locations across the country.

Analysis carried out by Cultivate shows that beef farmers made up the majority of loan applications in the first half of 2021.

Speaking on behalf of Cultivate, Paul Morgan, CEO of Ennistymon and District Credit Union, said:

"Irish farmers continue to invest in a sustainable future for their farming enterprises. We are a specialist provider of finance to farmers and offer flexible unsecured loans up to €50,000, so we are well placed to support them when a farmer needs to invest in stock or working capital or to finance farm buildings or machinery.”

Participating Cultivate credit unions work locally with farmer members.

The service means farmers have the opportunity to talk with people who understand farming, and to agree a financial package that this tailored to best suit the needs of the farmer and their farming enterprise.

“We are thrilled with this consistent growth in Cultivate farm loans. The reality on the ground is that, despite Covid-19 and Brexit, there is a growing demand among farmers for access to local, friendly finance with quick decision making," Morgan continued.

Cultivate also recently published analysis of its 2021 loan applications for the first six months of the year.

The period analysed saw nearly the same amount of loan applications to Cultivate as the entire 12 months in 2020 (94% of 2020 volume).

When adjusted for new credit unions joining Cultivate in the period, the like-for-like comparison shows a 50% increase in loan applications for the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020.

The average Cultivate loan application in the first six months of 2021 was for €26,791, with repayments spread over a six-year period and May was the most popular month for applications.

The average loan to a dairy farmer was just over €30,000 in comparison to €26,075 for a beef farmer.

The most popular loans were for stocking and working capital (25%), followed closely by farm buildings (24%) and tractor purchases (17%).

Beef farmers continue to drive the majority of Cultivate loan applications, accounting for seven out of 10 of the total loan applications in the first six months of 2021, while dairy farmers accounted for 21%, sheep farmers for 7% and tillage farmers for 2%.

As part of today's announcement, Cultivate ais welcoming its first participating credit unions in counties: Carlow; Cavan; Donegal; Laois; Monaghan; and Wexford.

The new credit unions are:

Collectively they account for 21 new locations where farmers can access Cultivate loans.

Commenting further, Paul Morgan said: “This announcement confirms what we have long believed - that there is strong demand among Irish farmers for an alternative flexible finance lender.