Farmers in Mount Forest and Woodstock are this year's recipients of Egg Farmers of Ontario's New Entrant Quota Loan Pool program.
Eli and Verna Weber of Mount Forest plan to build a layer barn on their farm next year. Matt and Jen McKee of Woodstock also have plans for a layer barn in 2015.
The New Entrant program is designed to encourage new farmers to get into the egg farming business. Recipients can borrow up to 10,000 units of quota a year, based on a ratio of 1 unit bought, 2 borrowed. After 10 years, the loaned quota will be returned to the program in 10 annual installments.
That quota will then be loaned out to future participants in the program.
There were 21 applicants for this year's program.
EFO Chair Scott Graham says there are already four new egg farm families in operation in Ontario from the first three years of the program.
