The maximum amount of grant funding available for most items under the Tier 1 capital grant scheme has increased by 11%.

The fourth tranche of the scheme, which allows up to a 40% grant for farm investments costing between £5,000 and £30,000, opened for applications on Tuesday.

The increase in grant funding has been applied by DAERA to reflect higher costs for equipment and machinery since the last tranche opened in October 2020.

While the higher grant rate will more than cover price changes for some items, the cost of other items has increased by much more than 11% over the past two years. “The cost of a lot of our stuff is up 30%. The grant won’t go as far this time round,” said one local machinery supplier.

There are 234 eligible items available for the Tier 1 grant in the current tranche, up from 210 items in the third tranche. New additions include minimum tillage equipment, over-seeders, milk bulk tanks, wheeled milk feeders, and additional GPS technologies.

The layout of the list for eligible slurry tankers has also changed, as each item now includes a specific tanker size and a piece of low-emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE).

In the previous tranche, slurry tankers and LESSE were listed as two separate items, so applicants had to apply for two items if they wanted a complete slurry outfit. This makes comparisons between the two tranches difficult, although in some cases, the grant rate for certain slurry tankers appears to have risen by less than 11%. For example, the maximum grant for a 2,500-slurry tanker with a 10m trailing shoe is almost unchanged at £12,000.

Points system

DAERA has said the fourth tranche of Tier 1 has a £10m budget. Like previous tranches, if the scheme is oversubscribed, applications will be ranked on points-based selection criteria.

Overall, up to 100 points are available for applications. Items that help reduce ammonia emissions, such as LESSE, are grouped in the top priority band which bring 46 selection points.

DAERA has added new items to this top priority band to incentivise applications for equipment that help reduce costs associated with feed, fertiliser, and fuel. This includes over-seeders, milk plate coolers, dairy cow feeders and GPS equipment.

After the top priority band, items under band two get 40 points, band three receive 34 points and items from band four are allocated 28 points. Up to 39 points are also available for “value for money” criteria, where applications for grant funding are below DAERA’s reference price.

Other points are available for applicants who are under 40 years old (5 points), have at least a level II agriculture qualification (5 points) and were not successful in a previous tranche of Tier 1 (5 points).

Previous applicants

Anyone who received grant funding in the first and second tranches of Tier 1 can apply again with no limitations. However, successful applicants in the third tranche can only apply again if their total grant across both tranches is less than £12,000.

Farmers with over 200 livestock units are unable to apply for LESSE items under Tier 1, as it is already a legal requirement for them to use LESSE when spreading slurry.

All applicants are also required to complete an online farm safety assessment, receive a support letter from their bank, and complete business plan questions in the application form.

Successful applicants will have six months from the date on their letter of offer to purchase items and submit a claim. However, DAERA has said extensions will be considered if equipment cannot be supplied within the six-month timeframe.