Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Program
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- The decision is made by your bank or credit union, not the funder. 6 work that way.
- Winning means you must produce audited accounts. 13 ask that.
- Money you have already spent can still count, up to 60 days back. Only 14 put a window on it.
Do you qualify for this loan?
Get your instant eligibility verdict plus a head start on the application. Free, no account needed.
We use this program’s real eligibility rules. 4 short questions follow.
Want your full match picture across 850+ programs? Take the 2-minute quiz →
Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Federal loan guarantee covering 95% of lender losses on farm loans up to $500,000 per operation ($3M for co-operatives), enabling farmers to access affordable credit through participating banks for land, buildings, equipment, livestock, and intergenerational transfers. Part of a federal farm loan guarantee lineage dating to 1945; the program has operated in its current CALA form since 2009.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be a farmer (individual, partnership, or corporation) or agricultural co-operative (50%+ farmer membership)
- Eligible purposes: land purchase, building construction/repair, equipment, livestock, fencing, drainage, farm consolidation, intergenerational transfers, cannabis production, vertical farming
- Ineligible: improving family dwelling, purchasing quotas, operating loans
- Apply through a participating bank or credit union
- Within the $500,000 aggregate limit: up to $500,000 is for land purchase and building construction or improvement, and up to $350,000 for all other purposes combined (equipment, livestock, fencing, drainage, consolidation/refinancing, and share purchases for intergenerational transfers)
- Share purchases for intergenerational farm transfers fall under the $350,000 sub-cap, and at least 90% of the fair market value of the corporation, partnership or co-operative's property must be farming property
- Farms operating on a First Nations reserve generally cannot use CALA: section 89(1) of the Indian Act prevents on-reserve property from being used as security for a loan (per AAFC's own program evaluation)
- Retroactivity is tightly bounded: a purchase already made must be within 60 days of the loan's first disbursement, while further disbursements for purchases completed up to 365 days after the first disbursement stay eligible
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to $500,000 per farm operation; up to $3,000,000 for agricultural co-operatives
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Federal
- Financing share
- Up to 90% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Ongoing (apply through your bank)
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Very accessible — simple application
Low competition — good odds of approval
Easy — minimal documentation
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipApply through your bank, not the government — CALA is a loan guarantee that helps you get approved for bank financing you might otherwise be declined for.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on agriculture.canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-04.
6 of the sources
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: Lender guidelines
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: 1. What this program offers
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: 2. Eligibility
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: 3. Before you apply
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: 4. How to apply
- Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program: Lender process
Sign up free to save this programme and track your application in your workspace.
What Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada favours
Lenders must apply ordinary business care to CALA loans◦
“Lenders are expected to take the same care in making CALA Program loans as they would in conducting ordinary business.”
The form
Working with your lender
- 1Approach a participating lender and name the CALA Programwritten answer
Contact a lender organization near you, or visit them in person: chartered banks; credit unions; caisses populaires; ATB Financial; Be sure to mention the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Program; The lender will go through their loan application process and determine the financing best suited for your needs, which may include a CALA Program loan.
Your loan application
- 2Loan application signed by the farmer, stating the purpose of the proceedswritten answer
the loan was made pursuant to an application signed by the farmer in the form established or approved by the Minister, stating the purpose for which the proceeds of the loan were to be expended;
- 3Statement of the borrower's interest in the property being financedselection + written
- 4Beginning-farmer proofupload
- 5Business plan as proof of intent to farmwritten answer
- 6Down payment or equity in lieu of cashtable
- 7Proof of purchase and proof of paymentupload
- 8Home-quarter declaration where a dwelling sits on land being purchasedupload
- 9Written promise to repay and the signed loan documenttable
- 10Security documents and any guaranteelist
Co-operative applications
- 11Co-operative: written request for a CALA guarantee detailing the intent of the projectwritten answer
- 12Co-operative: financial history, forecasts and marketing plansupload
- 13Co-operative: shareholder equity test and member crop-sale contractstable
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Will the lender's own credit test pass?
Show them Show the farm's repayment capacity and security at the lender's ordinary lending standard.◦
In the funder’s words · 2
- Lenders are expected to take the same care in making CALA Program loans as they would in conducting ordinary business.
- Given that the Program does not reduce the risk assessment that lenders are required to conduct before approving a loan, the Program does not address this barrier to credit.
- 2
Is the borrower and the purpose eligible?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
- 3
Does the project stand up?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
Where applicants fail
“Purchases completed more than 60 days before the first disbursement are ineligible”
“Labour or services provided by the borrower or proprietor”
“Refundable taxes (GST, PST, or custom duties)”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 11 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
9 more rules that can reject you · 4 more criteria · 11 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
You
Who can borrow
Existing farmer; beginning farmer (less than 6 years of farming); start-up agribusiness; farmer taking over the family farm; part-time farmer; agricultural co-operatives with a majority (50% + 1) farmer membership
The project
No private dwelling
Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a loan made for the purpose of financing the construction of or improvements to a private dwelling.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Aggregate limit$500,000 per farm; $3 million co-ops
The maximum aggregate loan limit for any one farm operation is $500,000. The maximum aggregate loan limit for agricultural co-operatives is $3 million, with approval from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Real property cap$500,000 for land and buildings
$500,000 for the purchase of land and the construction or improvement of buildings
Other purposes cap$350,000 for other purposes
$350,000 for all other loan purposes, including consolidation/refinancing
Eligible amount80% existing farmers; 90% beginning farmers
Loans to existing farmers must not exceed the lesser of 80% of the appraised value of the property for which the loan was made or the purchase price as evidenced by, for example, an invoice, a deed of sale, or a purchase contract. Loans to beginning farmers must not exceed the lesser of 90% of the appraised value of the property for which the loan was made or the purchase price as evidenced by, for example, an invoice, a deed of sale, or a purchase contract.
Interest capPrime +1% floating; mortgage +1% fixed
Interest to be paid on a floating rate is a maximum of the lender's prime rate plus 1%. Interest to be paid on a fixed term rate is a maximum of the lender's residential mortgage rate, for a comparable term, plus 1%.
Maximum terms15 years land; 10 years other
Land loans: The maximum term (length of government coverage) for a CALA Program term loan for land is 15 years. Other loans: The maximum term for all other CALA Program loan classes is 10 years.
Guarantee95% of net loss
Under this farm financing program, the federal government guarantees, to the lender, repayment of 95% of a net loss on an eligible loan issued.
Registration fee0.85% of loan amount
A lender shall pay to the Minister at the time of registration of a loan a fee in the amount of 0.85% of the amount of every loan.
Administration chargeUp to 0.25% or $250; 0.1%
For loans under $250,000, the fee can be up to 0.25% of the loan principal or $250 (whichever is lower). For loans of $250,000 or more, the fee can be up to 0.1% of the loan principal.
Your share10% beginning farmers; 20% existing farmers
Low down payments: 10% for beginning farmers; 20% for existing farmers
StackingGrants and credits deducted from cost
Where, at the time of making a loan, the lender is aware that a grant, discount, reimbursement, or any credit directly related to the item purchased is to be received by the borrower at purchase or afterward, it should be deducted from the original cost of the item when establishing the amount of the loan.
Costs before approval60 days from purchase date
If you've already made a purchase, a lender has 60 days from the purchase date to issue a CALA Program loan.
What it pays for · 8
- purchase of land
- construction, repair, alteration of, or additions to, any building or structure on a farm
- erection or construction of fencing or works for drainage
- transfer tax, survey, appraisal and legal costs relating to the purchase of land
- purchase of shares for inter-generational farm transfers
- the cost of obtaining security on existing assets, including premiums for life and/or disability insurance
- purchase of a refrigerated truck or a mobile abattoir
- Cannabis production; Vertical farming; Leasehold improvements; Land improvements
What it does not pay for · 9
- refundable taxes (GST, PST, or custom duties)
- recreational vehicles and/or vehicles for personal use
- stock in trade
- construction of, or improvements to, a family dwelling for non-commercial purposes
- goodwill (intangible assets of a going concern) and intangibles such as research and development costs or prepaid expenses
- labour or services provided by the borrower or proprietor
- commercial lease agreements
- permits and licenses
- quota purchases
From application to money
- Talk to a lenderApply with a lender
- Sign the applicationLender runs its loan application process
- Lender credit decisionLender decides on its own standards
- Sign loan documentsSign loan documents before first disbursement
- First disbursementLoan made on first disbursement
- Loan registeredRegister within 365 days of disbursement
In the funder’s words · 6
- Talk to a lender
- If you're a farmer or agricultural co-operative, you must apply with a lender to receive a farm loan under the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA) Program.
- Sign the application
- The lender will go through their loan application process and determine the financing best suited for your needs, which may include a CALA Program loan.
- Lender credit decision
- Participating lender underwriting to its own ordinary standard. AAFC does not adjudicate individual farm loans and applies no merit test.
- Sign loan documents
- For a CALA Program loan, on or before the day of the first disbursement of the loan funds, the borrower and the lender must sign a document outlining the following:
- First disbursement
- A loan is considered “made” on the date of the first disbursement of loan funds.
- Loan registered
- The loan registration and fee submission (Schedule 1) can be completed through the online CALA Program portal (A CALA Program loan must be registered within 365 days from the date of the first disbursement)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure CALA
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 4-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 4-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 2-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what lenders look for
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 4
Eligible Expenses 17
Ineligible Expenses 11
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Not-applicable RiskHow CALA Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
| Program | Amount | Difficulty | Payment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Agricultural Loans Act (CALA... | Up to $500,000 | Easy | Loan | Ongoing (apply through... |
| Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Financing | Varies | Easy | Loan | Ongoing |
| AgriInvest Program | up to $10,000 | Easy | Advance Payment | Enrolment is open.... |
| CanExport SMEs | Up to $50,000 | Moderate | Mixed (Advance + Reimb.) | Between intakes — the... |
| Export Development Canada (EDC) Finan... | Varies | Easy | Equity | Ongoing |
Related Programs
Other programs you might be eligible for
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about CALA