Building a new farm shed? Researching low-interest loans for farm sheds in New South Wales? What are the RAA loans?
Grants and loans are always a popular topic!
Below we provide a summary of the two most common low-interest loans available to farmers in New South Wales that can potentially be used for farm shed projects:
- The Drought Infrastructure Fund (formerly known as the Innovation Fund)
- The Drought Ready & Resilience Fund
These loans are both funded by the NSW treasury and are administered by Rural Assistance Authority (RAA).
Please note that this is not a complete list of agricultural grants and loans in New South Wales. We recommend that you contact NSW Department of Industries to learn about these.
You might also like our article – Grants, Loans & Tax Write-Offs For Farm Sheds – this provides and overview of what is available to farmers across Australia, rather than a specific state.
Read on to learn more about the Drought Infrastructure Fund.
Drought Infrastructure Fund
As explained by the NSW government website, this fund provides eligible primary producers in NSW with low interest loans of up to $1 million to invest in permanent on-farm infrastructure.
The fund which began in 2014 is ongoing.
However, loans will not be offered beyond the allocated funding.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility requirements for the Drought Infrastructure Fund include:
- Demonstrating you are the owner or operator of a farm business where the work is to be carried out
- Demonstrating that your farm business has long-term viability and has the capacity to repay the loan sought.
- Lodging an application before the project commences.
What Farm Sheds Could This Loan Be Used For?
There are four main categories that this loan can be used for.
- Drought Preparedness such as stock containment areas
- Environment such as solar power conversions
- Natural Resources such as effluent control.
- Farm infrastructure
Eligible farm infrastructure projects could include general farm sheds or shearing sheds and fodder storage such as hay sheds.
“Applicants can apply for up to 100% of the net, GST exclusive cost of eligible works to a maximum of $1,000,000 with a maximum of $1,000,000 outstanding at any time”
To confirm whether you and your project are eligible, download the guidelines here. Or use the contact information below.
Phone: 1800 678 593
Email: rural.assist@raa.nsw.gov.au
Next up – The Drought Ready & Resilience fund
Drought Ready & Resilience Fund
The Drought Ready and Resilient Fund allows eligible primary producers to access a low interest loan up to $250,000 to help prepare for, manage and recover from drought.
Applications will be accepted until funding is exhausted.
Eligibility
DPI NSW provide an overview of Elibility requirements, here.
Or, download the guidelines – here to learn more about who can apply and what the loan can be used for.
What Farm Sheds Could This Loan Be Used For?
According to the Rural Assistance Authority website, this loan could be used for shade structures and the purchase and installation of new on-farm infrastructure.
It would be worth clarifying with RAA what the shade structures and on-farm infrastructure can include. For example, does this include cattle yard covers, covered sheep feedlots or general storage sheds?
That’s a summary of these two low interest loans for farm sheds in New South Wales. We hope this has been a handy overview and helped to point you in the right direction.
We have listed some addition resources below that might be useful if you are in the project planning and budgeting stage.
Additional Resources
- 9 Of The Best Hay Shed Kit Sizes & Prices
- Farm Shed Tax Write-Off In 2024
- How to Compare Farm Shed Quotes
- NSW Farm Sheds (PDF Download)
For more articles and resources like these, browse the Learning Hub. The hub includes a Pricing Guide Library, storage calculators and customer stories like our recent chat with Ben Seamer of Momala Farms.
Or to discuss your farm shed project and pricing and invoicing requirements for your farm shed loan application, speak with one of our building consultants on 1800 687 888.
Disclaimer: Information included in this article is general only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Speak with your accountant or financial advisor and the grant or loan provider for advice specific to your situation.
