The by-invitation event at Ibis Styles, Tamworth, on Wednesday attracted about 40 accountants, bankers, financial advisers and agribusiness experts.

It came as the government-backed, low-interest loans were doubled from up to $1 million per eligible farm business, to a new ceiling of $2 million.

RIC interim chief executive officer Matt Ryan spoke to the crowd about the two products on offer: drought loans and farm investment loans.

Both offer a 10-year term with interest-only repayments for the first five, a variable interest rate of 3.58 per cent and no fees.

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The frequency of repayments, and how much principal must be repaid in the second half of the loan before it is refinanced with a commercial lender, are tailored to each business.

The federal government launched the Orange-based RIC on July 1 to replace state agencies’ loan schemes.

Mr Ryan told Country Leader that was for “national consistency”.

“Having the RIC means that it’s the same set of guidelines and the same process, and everyone in Australia’s treated exactly the same way in terms of the assessment and issuing of loans.”

Since the RIC began, he said, representatives had been speaking with individual farmers at events as such as the AgQuip and Henty field days.

The sessions in recent weeks – including in Toowoomba last week, Tamworth on Wednesday and Muswellbrook on Thursday – were for the business people and professionals who worked with them.

“We certainly are talking to farmers, but we also think it’s important we talk to farm businesses who are trusted advisers.”

Mr Ryan said the loans could be used for farm-related activities “including refinance existing commercial debt, or accessing new debt for operating expenses and capital improvements”.

“There’s a lot of interest in refinancing existing debt with the RIC, as the savings are significant – the difference between our 3.58 per cent rate and a commercial rate puts an extra $40,000 into a farmer’s pocket each year when borrowing $2 million,” he said.

“Other farmers want to access new debt for operating expenses and capital improvements like paying bills, buying feed, desilting dams, planting new crops or agisting livestock.”