"Stabilizing Livestock Farm Management
and Easing the Burden of Feed Costs"
Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province will provide an additional 59.6 billion KRW in 'feed purchase funds' in the second half of this year.
According to the province on July 7, this additional support has been implemented to help stabilize the management of livestock farms that are struggling due to rising feed costs and an oversupply of Korean beef cattle.
This measure follows the 148.2 billion KRW in support provided in the first half of the year and brings the total loan support to 207.8 billion KRW, an increase of 7.4 billion KRW compared to the previous year. This funding is expected to help reduce the feed cost burden for livestock farms and can also be used to repay existing debts, thereby providing practical liquidity support.
In particular, 29.4 billion KRW, accounting for 49% of the total, has been allocated to Korean beef cattle farms that have been hit hard by the prolonged oversupply, and this is expected to contribute to the recovery and stabilization of the Korean beef industry.
The feed purchase fund is provided as a 100% loan at a fixed annual interest rate of 1.8%, with a lump-sum repayment after a two-year grace period. Based on the support unit price per head for each type of livestock, beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, and poultry farms can receive loans of up to 600 million KRW. In addition, farms participating in government policies such as the cow fattening support project, the sow traceability system, and those affected by preventive culling due to FMD or AI are eligible for an increased limit of up to 900 million KRW.
Livestock farmers wishing to receive feed purchase fund support should submit an application to the livestock department of their local city, county, or township office where their livestock are raised. Final recipients will be selected through a review by the city or county, taking into account existing loan balances and available support limits. Selected farmers must execute their loans through their local Nonghyup or Livestock Cooperative by September 18.
The province also plans to provide additional interest subsidies ranging from 0.4% to 1.8% of the loan amount, depending on the type and scale of livestock, to farms that received feed purchase fund support last year. In addition, the province will provide more practical relief to farms by offering parallel support through the Jeonbuk Provincial Agricultural, Forestry, and Fisheries Development Fund.
Min Sunshik, Director of the Agricultural Life and Livestock Industry Bureau, said, "We will respond quickly to voices from the field and spare no administrative support to help stabilize the management of livestock farms by alleviating the burden of feed costs."
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