Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural Drainage
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
Low-interest provincial loan program for Ontario agricultural landowners to install underground tile drainage systems. Administered jointly by local municipalities and OMAFA, the program lends up to 75% of tile drainage installation costs (capped at $50,000 per farmer per year) at a provincially-set fixed interest rate, repaid over 10 years. The program is uniquely executed: most loans are processed through the local municipality, which inspects the work, collects annual repayments, and forwards funds to the province. Tile drainage is one of the most significant yield-improving investments available to Ontario crop farmers.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be the registered owner of agricultural property in Ontario
- Agricultural land must have a drainage problem requiring tile drainage
- Soil must be responsive to drainage (clay or loam soils — not sand or gravel)
- Property must have a legal discharge outlet for drainage water
- Only property owners may apply — tenants/renters are not eligible (even on rented farmland)
- Loan covers installation of new tile drainage systems on agricultural land
- Only the agricultural property owner may apply — tenants farming rented land must arrange with the property owner. Property must be in Ontario's Farm Tax Class. Soil must be responsive to tile drainage and have sufficient legal outlet for discharge. Ineligible costs: HST, indirect costs (stump removal, fence clearing, land levelling), off-property work, volume rebates, work by unlicensed contractors. Contractors must be licensed by OMAFA under the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, 1990. Annual loan limit: $50,000 per individual across all roles (individual, partnership, or corporation).
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to 75% of tile drainage installation costs, maximum $50,000 per farmer per year
- Type
- Loan
- Level
- Provincial
- Financing share
- Up to 75% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Applications typically accepted May through March annually
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Low competition — good odds of approval
Easy — minimal documentation
How to qualify
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThis is one of the most cost-effective ways to finance tile drainage — the interest rate is set provincially and fixed for the 10-year term, historically lower than commercial lending rates.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural D... judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 3 source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-07.
3 sources
- Application for Tile Loan – Form 6 forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca
- Tile Loan Program fact sheet ontario.ca
- Tile Loan Program ontario.ca
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The form
Form 6
- 1Owner informationshort answer
- 2Property to be drainedshort answer
- 3Estimated drainage costs and loan amounttable
- 4Owner signaturesshort answer
Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural D... states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
What land is being drained, and where?
Show them Give the lot number, concession, geographic township, parcel, property address, dimensions and the drainage outlet, and name every owner who signs.◦
- 2
Do the costs and the loan request add up?
What to show them in Premium
- 3
Will any work start before approval?
What to show them in Premium
Premium · the rest of this brief
See the rule that can reject you. Then we draft your application for you.
4 more prompts
Do you pass?
This one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
The project
Approval before starting construction
Applicant must apply and receive approval before starting construction.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Maximum loanUp to 75%, max $50,000
Loan up to 75% of project value, maximum aggregate $50,000 per person per fiscal year.
Repayment termTen-year term, annual repayment
Ten-year term with annual repayment; may be repaid in full at any time without penalty.
Costs before approvalApproval needed before construction starts
Applicant must apply and receive approval before starting construction.
What it pays for · 1
- Installation of an agricultural tile drainage system by a licensed contractor or the owner.
What it does not pay for · 5
- HST
- Indirect costs such as removing stumps, fence lines, or land levelling
- Off-property work
- Volume rebates
- Work performed by an unlicensed contractor
From application to money
- Apply year-roundApply year-round before work begins
- Municipal approvalMunicipal approval before construction begins
- Install the systemInstall via licensed contractor or self-install
- Inspection certifies completionInspector certifies drainage work complete
- Loan issuedMay 1 through March 1Loan issued after completion
In the funder’s words · 5
- Apply year-round
- Apply to the local municipality, or to an OMAFA economic business advisor for land in territory without municipal organization, before any work begins.
- Municipal approval
- Receive municipal approval before construction begins.
- Install the system
- Install through a licensed contractor or self-install.
- Inspection certifies completion
- The municipal drainage inspector certifies the drainage work is complete.
- Loan issued
- The loan is issued after completion.
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to secure Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural D...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 7-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-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 7
Eligible Expenses 5
Ineligible Expenses 5
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural D... Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about Tile Loan Program — Ontario Agricultural D...