A NEW partnership between Bank of Ireland with Bandon, Drinagh, and Lisavaird Co-ops will offer the Enviroflex loan package to its milk suppliers.
Following a successful launch of Enviroflex last year, the sustainability-linked loans are now available to Bandon, Drinagh, and Lisavaird co-op milk suppliers, who are actively engaged in implementing environmentally sustainable initiatives to reduce their farms’ environmental footprint under the Carbery FutureProof programme.
The Enviroflex programme was first launched in November 2023, and has proven popular with dairy farmers, with discounted flexible finance provided to farmers conducting milking parlour upgrades, installing wastewater and slurry storage facilities, and investing in renewable and solar technologies.
Applicants must be Bandon, Drinagh, and Lisavaird co-op milk suppliers and participants of the Carbery FutureProof programme, while applicants will also need to provide Bank of Ireland with the carbon footprint of their farm. ‘We know our farmer shareholders value sustainability and want to farm in a sustainable way – 85% of our suppliers taking up our FutureProof sustainability bonus in its first full year clearly proved that,’ said Carbery chief executive Jason Hawkins. ‘However, some sustainability measures, like all improvements, require investment. We welcome this Enviroflex scheme from Bank of Ireland, which rewards farmers who can demonstrate their sustainability credentials and ambitions.’
Bank of Ireland development manager John Fitzgerald said the scheme helps farmers looking to improve cashflow and finance on-farm developments over a longer period. The loan amount can range from a minimum of €10,000 to a maximum of €500,000, with a variable interest rate currently at a discounted market rate of 4.73% per annum, for those participating in the Carbery FutureProof sustainability programme.
Typically, unsecured loans are available for up to €120,000 with a standard term of seven years. Carbery’s FutureProof bonus is available again to all farmer shareholders who meet the qualifying criteria. The measures were chosen for their environmental impact.
These are: agreeing to an ASSAP (water quality) assessment; economic breeding index; milk recording four times a year; and using protected urea. There was excellent uptake on the bonus in 2023, with 84% of suppliers and more than 90% of Carbery’s milk pool included in FutureProof 2023.
