The deadline for the second tender under the federal Hog Farm Transition Program has been set for Wednesday, Nov. 18.
All bids received by 2 p.m. EST on that date will be included in that date’s tender, according to the Canadian Pork Council, which administers the program.
Producers who aren’t already registered are encouraged to submit their registration forms no later than Tuesday, Nov. 10 for this second tender window, the council said.
“This will provide program administrators sufficient time to evaluate forms, complete any follow-up required to ascertain eligibility and send out bid forms prior to the tender deadline.”
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The second tender follows the extension of the first tender’s deadline to Wednesday, Nov. 4.
That deadline was extended “in order to ensure the bulk of registrations received by (Oct. 23) could be processed in time for the first tender, the council said in a release Thursday.
As well, the council said, “many of the registration forms submitted required additional information, thus delaying the approval process.”
Now taking faxes
Also, the council said Thursday, “due to the tight timelines under which the program is operating,” a change in policy has been made so bid forms for all tenders can now also be delivered by fax to the program administrator at 1-888-334-6618.
Those who fax their bid forms will be required to also submit the original at a later date, the council said.
Producers need only register once to be approved for all program tendering opportunities, the council noted.
Transition program funds are being distributed based on a tendering process that allows producers to bid for the amount of funding they need to take their barns out of operation for at least three years.
The transition program is retroactive to April 1, so hog farmers who depopulated their barns before applying for the program may still be eligible.
For further information the council operates a producer hotline at 1-888-368-4023 from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
