The Bank of North Dakota has announced the COVID-19 PACE Recovery (CPR) Program for agribusinesses. It provides a loan of up to $5 million for businesses of less than 500 employees and a loan of up to $10 million for businesses with more than 500 employees.

Loan payments may be deferred for up to six months, at which time the loan will term out with up to a 10-year amortization. The interest rate on the loan will be bought down by BND to 1% for a period of time, with a maximum buydown of $500,000.

Requirements include showing a negative economic impact due to COVID-19, and the capacity or history of showing the business can service debt before March 13, 2020.

More information about the CPR Program may be found online.

Agriculture producers are not eligible for the CPR Program, according to North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, but have other options such as the BND Ag Disaster Relief Program and the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

South Dakota counties named disaster areas

USDA has designated 17 South Dakota counties as primary natural disaster areas.

Producers in Aurora, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Charles Mix, Clay, Davison, Douglas, Gregory, Hanson, Hutchison, Lincoln, Miner, Turner, Union and Yankton counties who suffered losses due to excessive moisture and flooding that has occurred since March 13, 2019, may be eligible for emergency loans.

Mexico approves bison imports

Mexico has formally opened its door to import U.S.-produced bison meat.

“This is a very positive development for the bison business,” says Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association. “The Mexican marketplace offers a growth opportunity for our business. Additionally, many consumers in Mexico tend to favor cuts of meat that are not in high demand by U.S. customers, so this can help our marketers balance carcass utilization.”

South Dakota Corn donates $100,000

South Dakota Corn has donated $100,000 to Feeding South Dakota, a non-profit organization that provides hunger relief aid in the state.

“Through our continuing partnership with Feeding South Dakota, our farmers are making a commitment to provide hundreds of thousands of nourishing meals each year to men, women and children throughout the entire state,” says Robert Walsh, an Elk Point farmer and the president of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council. “The fight against hunger has never been more important than during these troubling times.”

South Dakota Corn adopted Feeding South Dakota as a philanthropic partner eight years ago and donates annually.

Sources: North Dakota Department of Agriculture, South Dakota Farm Service Agency, National Bison Association and South Dakota Corn, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.