Slurry spreading will be on the mind of many in just a few short weeks, but how you apply your slurry may have to be changed as we progress from 2024 to 2025.

As part of ongoing changes with nitrates, any farm operating at a stocking rate of 100kg N/ha or above must spread all slurry using low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) equipment from 1 January 2025.

Farmers who were operating at a stocking rate of 130kg N/ha had spread all slurry using LESS from 1 January 2024.

How this affects TAMS

For anyone considering purchasing LESS equipment through the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS III), it is important to note that eligibility will also be based of stocking rate figures.

From 1 January 2024, applicants farming above 150kg/ha organic nitrogen were ineligible to apply for LESS equipment, with this extending to those farming above 130kg organic N from 1 January 2025 and above 100kg organic N by 1 January 2026.

What this essentially means is that farmers farming between 100kg and 130kg N/ha have the calendar year of 2025 to apply for TAMS aid for LESS equipment, with mandatory spreading using LESS in force in 2026 for these same farms.

Rate of payment

LESS grant aid will be paid at a rate of 60% up to the applicable maximum investment ceiling. For LESS, the maximum amount of investment eligible for grant aid under the scheme is €40,000 per holding.

However, in the case of a joint application by two or more eligible partners under a registered farm partnership, the maximum eligible investment ceilings is increased to €60,000.

The investment ceiling under this scheme is not subject to the overall TAMS III investment ceiling of €90,000 per holding.

Based off TAMS reference costs, a typical 2,250-gallon tanker with a 7.5m-wide trailing shoe with macerator will cost €39,371.44 ex-VAT. At a 60% grant rate, this would leave a net cost of €15,748.57.