Round 2 of Slurry Infrastructure Grant Scheme closes this week
15th Jan 2024 / By Alistair Driver
NPA members are reminded that Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant will close for applications on Wednesday, January 17.
In a new blog on the Defra website, the Department says: "We’re supporting many more projects than we did last year so, if you need slurry storage, now is the time to apply."
You can view the post HERE
Guidance for Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant sets out:
- who can apply
- what the grant can pay for
- the information you’ll need to provide when you apply.
A further £74 million has been made available in this round to help farmers invest in improved slurry infrastructure to tackle water pollution, improve air quality and make better use of organic nutrients.
As outlined here, based on feedback from farmers, a number of changes have made to the scheme that make it more accessible to pig farmers.
This include an increase from six to eight months’ storage covered by the grants. Pig farmers who applied for six months’ storage under Round 1 will now be able to apply for eight months.
Grants will also be available towards slurry separators and retrofitting covers onto existing stores. Covers must be impermeable unless you are installing a slurry bag or using acidification.
Farmers can apply for grants of £25,000 to £250,000, which can be used for:
• above-ground steel slurry stores
• precast circular concrete slurry stores
• earth bank lagoons
• stores using precast rectangular concrete panels
• in-situ cast reinforced concrete stores, also new to Round 2.
• large volume supported slurry bags (over 2,500 m3).
- Farmers can apply for the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant HERE
There is a three-stage application process, starting with using AHDB’s the slurry wizard tool (the latest version updated in October 2023) to check current and future slurry storage requirements.
Potential applicants then need to complete an online checker for eligibility and, if so, use it to submit online applications. The checker will close for applications on January 17, 2024.
If oversubscribed, funding will be prioritised in areas where coordinated action is most urgently needed to reduce water and air pollution from farming. The priority areas have been significantly widened compared to meet extra demand.
Supported
Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: “It’s vital farmers are supported to make the environmental improvements I know so many want to make. Our Slurry Infrastructure Grant is helping farmers to invest in infrastructure which is often costly but can deliver big benefits for our waterways and air quality, while also cutting their input costs.
Welcoming the announcement, NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: “We are really pleased the storage has been increased to eight months as this brings many more pig farmers into play.
“We were involved in the development of the scheme and, while we didn’t get everything we wanted - we pushed hard for more storage capacity and permeable covers - it is a real improvement for pig farmers on Round 1.
“We urge members to consider applying if you think it could help your business. Please, don’t be put off by the priority areas – just apply!”
Yorkshire pig producer Joe Dewhirst, a recipient of the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, said: “The Slurry Infrastructure Grant is helping me replace my old earth banked slurry lagoon with a new precast circular slurry store, which will help me manage my slurry better and reduce emissions from the farm.”
The grant will enable more farmers to go beyond existing storage requirements, supporting better compliance with regulation and more effective use of organic nutrients.
Farmers are obliged to have a minimum of four months slurry storage in the rules for storing silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil, and five (cattle) or six (pigs) months in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. The Farming Rules for Water also require farmers to plan nutrient applications to meet soil and crop need.