A great opportunity, but farmers must act fast
Farmers across Shropshire have just a few weeks to apply for a new grant scheme designed to help with buying smaller machinery and equipment.
The £60 million Countryside Productivity Small Grants Scheme was announced on February 7 by farming minister George Eustice.
But the period for applications is short with the deadline in just a few weeks on March 14.
The scheme is available to farmers in England and allows them to bid for cash to buy new farm equipment. The grants available are between £3,000 and £12,000 - up to 40 per cent of the total cost.
We would urge farmers in Shropshire to take action on this immediately and apply as soon as they can.
The grant was announced at this year’s Dairy Tech event and many of the items eligible for funding are highly relevant to the dairy sector - including specialist foot trimming crushes and calving detectors.
But it is a great opportunity for all farmers, including those in livestock, arable and horticultural sectors.
Applications will be scored, according to a set criteria, and applications that score high enough will be awarded a grant.
The application is split into item categories - cattle equipment, sheep equipment, pig equipment, general livestock equipment, precision farming equipment, resource management equipment and other general equipment.
Items that are eligible for funding include a range of livestock handling systems, crushes, calving detectors, weighing equipment, calf feeders, EID devices, pasture plate meters and electric scraper systems.
Arable farmers are able to apply for funds to help them buy GPS units, yield mapping devices, variable rate controllers and direct or strip till drills.
If a request for funding is approved, farmers will be emailed a Grant Funding Agreement and items can then be bought straight away.
The grant is all about more efficient farming and giving farmers what they need - as agents we feel this is a great opportunity.
We know that farmers are always looking for ways to work more efficiently, and manage their land in more sustainable ways, so funding for equipment that will help them do this is invaluable.
The minister told attendees and delegates at the Dairy Tech event that the hope is more farmers will be able to access equipment and embark on more innovative and ambitious projects.
Demand for the grants is expected to be very high, which is why we are urging farmers to apply as soon as possible.
Alasdair Barne, Director at Madeleys Chartered Surveyors.
