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Ulster Bank announced this Tuesday that applications for the fund would open from Monday 16 July until the end of the year or until the fund is fully subscribed.
"We work with farmers up and down the country day in day out, and we have heard first-hand accounts of the cumulative effect of a long winter, a very short spring and an unprecedented dry spell, that still shows no sign of an immediate end," Ulster Bank's head of agriculture Ailish Byrne said.
Loans from the fund are intended to help farmers manage cashflow resulting from "higher feed costs, reduced output and severe fodder shortages" after the harsh winter and ongoing drought. They will be available to existing and new farming customers of the bank residing in the Republic of Ireland.
A spokesperson for Ulster Bank told the Irish Farmers Journal that normal interest rates would apply to loans from the Weather Agri Fund, but there will be no arrangement fee.
Ulster Bank's announcement follows a decision by Bank of Ireland to offer short-term working capital loans and extensions to existing credit, and to suspend principal repayments to help farmers deal with cashflow issues.
A Government low-cost loan scheme remains planned before the end of this year.
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