Fonterra farmers can now apply for a loan which will be interest free for at least two years to help them deal with the low milkfat payout.
Farmer-shareholders can apply for an interest-free loan of 50 cents for every kilogram of share-backed milk solids produced from 1 June to 31 December 2015.
Fonterra says the loan will be interest-free until 31 May 2017, after which Fonterra may charge interest.
Farmers can repay all or part of the loan at any time and no security is required over their shares or any other assets.
The loan will be repayable directly from milk payments, and automatic repayments will occur when Total Advance Rate Payments exceed $6.
Fonterra farmers can apply from today and applications close on 25 September.
The loans will be funded by one-off savings Fonterra has made in its restructuring.