Approvals are ongoing for tranche four of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) III, as it approaches being two years in action

The scheme has had over 33,000 applications to date.

Approval rates are relatively steady throughout, though approval rates so far are lowest for the Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS).

The highest rates of approval are yet again seen in Low Emissions Slurry Spreading (LESS) and the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS).

The largest number of rejections is yet again seen in the Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme (FSCIS).

The Department has highlighted to the Irish Farmers Journal that one of the main reasons for rejection is that investments in a scheme are for less than the minimum €2,000.

What this means is that the reference costs for your investments within a certain scheme (FSCIS, TCIS) must be €2,000 or greater, but you can not combine the spend between two schemes to reach this €2,000 minimum spend.

Tranches five and six

Tranche five application approvals will likely begin towards the end of February or the beginning of March, going by the current rate of approvals in tranche four.

Some 5,823 applications were received for the scheme, which brought the total number of applications between the five tranches to over 33,000.

Tranche six is set to open on Thursday 23 January, having been originally set to reopen on 9 January.

Tranche six will see a 12th scheme added to TAMS III, with the Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme, specifically for imported slurries, set to be joined by an additional slurry storage grant geared towards home produced slurry, with a new ceiling on spending and a 60% grant rate.