Welsh Start Up Grant APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Farmers in Wales under the age of 40 are being given a second chance to take advantage of the Welsh Government’s £6 million funding package available to help them develop their businesses. The grant will provide £40,000 to 150 farmers (including those who were successful in the first round) as part of a Young People into Agriculture Scheme.
“We thought that there would only be one opportunity to apply but those that missed out on applying in the first round in June or those people who did not submit sufficient supporting evidence are now being given another chance to apply,” explained Kathryn Williams of Davis Meade Property Consultants.
“We don’t yet know all the details but we believe the rules will be the same as those for the first round. The second round will open on August 1 and close on August 29. We are therefore urging those who were rejected in the first round to re-assess their application if appropriate or for those applying for the first time to carefully read all of the scheme eligibility rules as there are a number of pieces of supporting evidence that must be submitted.”
The funding can be used as working capital, to purchase land or erect buildings, buy machinery or stock etc. and will be paid to successful applicants in three instalments. We presume these instalment dates will not be the same as those for the successful first round applicants but will follow a similar format.
Applicants must be able to show that they have the skills to be self-motivated to drive their businesses forward and also have a keen interest in the wider agricultural industry. As a part of the funding agreement applicants will also have to meet key performance indicators that will be agreed as part of their contract.
“Expressions of interest can be made from August 1 to August 29. Points will be awarded according to the type of business, business structure, academic qualifications, level of continuing professional development and the strength of the business plan. Applications will then be ranked according to how they meet the selection criteria until the maximum number (150) is reached,” Kathryn explained.
“In the first round only people who were setting up as head of a holding for the first time by September 1, 2018, or who started as head of a holding for the first time in the 12 months prior to the 1 April were eligible.”
For more information on the funding please contact Kathryn Williams or Sarah Wedge at the Oswestry office of Davis Meade Property Consultants on 01691 659658 or email kathrynwilliams@dmpcuk.com or sarahwedge@dmpcuk.com
Glastir Small Grants: Water APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Small Grants is a programme of capital works available to farming businesses across Wales to carry out projects that will help to improve water quality and reduce risk of flooding.
Capital Works items will be identified as ‘Main’ and ‘Supportive’ Work(s), which together form a ‘Project’. The Project will be:
- The Main Capital Work, which will address the theme objectives
- The Supportive Capital Work(s), which will allow the Main Capital Work to be undertaken, e.g. New Hedge Planting (option 900), is the Main Capital Work, while Post and Wire Fencing (option 594), to protect the new hedge from damage, would be a Mandatory Supportive Capital Work, and Hardwood Timber Field Gates (option 599) would be an Optional Supportive Capital Work.
The Water Theme offers Capital Works that have been chosen for their broad and general environmental benefits and their ability to deliver the Welsh Government’s ambitions to improve water quality and reduce flood risk.
Expression of Interest (EoI)
To enable the Welsh Government to select those EoIs that offer the highest environmental value for money, all EoIs will be scored and ranked. Contracts will only be offered to the highest ranking EoIs.
The theme of this Glastir Small Grants Window is ‘Water’ and the available activities have been chosen for their ability to contribute to improving water quality or reducing flood risk.
Every eligible land parcel in Wales has been assigned a score for each available activity. This score is made up of the following;
A Glastir Small Grants Foundation Score: one point has been assigned to each eligible field parcel to recognise that all land can contribute to the aims of the scheme.
Target objectives: a number of target objectives have been identified across Wales. These objectives include habitat improvements for wildlife species such as water voles that depend on clean water.
Another objective includes reducing flood risk in river catchments that are prone to flooding. These areas will benefit from planting trees which will absorb high volumes of water and therefore reduce the amount of water draining off farmland.
Each land parcel has been awarded a different number of points depending on the specific activity and the combination of target objectives it overlaps with.
Farm Business Grant - 4th Round APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Farm Business Grant - 3rd Round APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Farm Business Grant - 2nd Round APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Farm Business Grant - 1st Round APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
The third round of the Farm Business Grant opens on the 29th January 2018.
The Farm Business Grant (FBG) helps farmers in Wales to improve the economic and environmental performance of their agricultural holdings.
The grant provides a financial contribution towards capital investments in equipment and machinery that have been pre-identified as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to farm enterprises.
£40m funding will be available over 4 years. The minimum grant available is £3,000, and the maximum is £12,000.
You are now able to submit Expression of Interests in multiple windows with a minimum £3,000 threshold per application. The maximum overall threshold is £12,000.
Only one application will be approved per business throughout the lifetime of the Scheme.
The FBG covers capital investments in equipment and machinery that have been pre-identified as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to your farm enterprise. The capital items have been specified along with a standardised cost.
The scheme is discretionary. The amount of grant offered would relate to individual circumstances and would always be the minimum amount necessary, to allow the investments to go ahead.
The items available through the scheme cover the following five themes:
· Animal Health
· Performance and Genetics
· Crop Management
· Resource Efficiency
· Energy Efficiency
· ICT
Farms may apply in more than one application round but only one grant award will be allowed per farm under this scheme.
Glastir Woodland Creation APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
The sixth window for Expressions of Interest (EOI) in Glastir Woodland Creation will opened on 26 February 2018 and close at midnight on 06 April 2018.
Glastir Woodland Creation provides financial support for new planting. Financial support is also available for planting trees in areas that continue to be grazed as part of an Agroforestry system i.e. combining agriculture and forestry.
To be eligible to express an interest under the fifth window, you will need to ensure that you have full management control for the land and that you are able to complete all capital works and planting by 31 March 2019.
The Glastir Woodland Creation EOI must be submitted through RPW Online.
For further details on the application criteria please contact Kathryn Williams on 07971 583638 or email kathrynwilliams@dmpcuk.com
Glastir Small Grants: Carbon APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
The third window for Expressions of Interest (EOI) in Glastir Small Grants Carbon opened on 1 November 2017 and will close at 13 December 2017.
The Carbon Theme offers Capital Works that have been chosen for their broad and general environmental benefits and their ability to deliver the Welsh Government’s ambitions to increase carbon sequestration.
Carbon sequestration is the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide and has been proposed as a way to slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases.
All trees and shrubs absorb carbon dioxide during growth. The goal of agricultural carbon removal is to use hedgerows and trees to sequester carbon dioxide.
Hedgerows are highly valued for stock management and shelter, , as well as an effective barrier to reduce the spread of animal diseases.
The Welsh Government recognises the importance of hedgerows as part of our cultural heritage and for their great value to wildlife and the landscape. Increasingly, they are also valued for the major role they have to play in preventing soil loss and reducing diffuse pollution.
Every eligible land parcel in Wales has been assigned a score for each available activity.
Grants available for sustainable management projects APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Grants of up to £700,000 are available in Wales under the Sustainable Management Scheme which will provide financial support for a range of activities that will improve the management of natural resources and contribute to the well-being of rural communities.
The scheme offers grants to collaborative groups looking to:
• improve natural resources and the benefits they provide
• take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• improve business and community resilience to the impacts of climate change.
"Grants can range from a minimum of £10,000 to a maximum of £700,000 to help start up and facilitate new collaborations through to landscape-scale ambition co-ordinating actions and input from several parties to achieve lasting benefits across communities," explained Kathryn Williams of Davis Meade Property Consultants at Oswestry.
"Each application window has a maximum of £5million for investment.
Application for the scheme will be in two stages. The first stage will be an EOI (Expression of Interest). Applicants that are successful at EOI stage will be invited to the second stage which is to submit a full application.
"The latest window for EOIs will be open from July 10 to September 5 with decisions being made by November 7. Successful applicants can then make a full application," she said.
"The maximum grant rate for any individual investment project is 100 per cent of the total cost."
The scheme is open to a wide range of collaborations made up of a variety of individual and organisations including:
• small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large businesses, education or research establishments
• farmers, foresters, other land managers
• community or voluntary groups (inclusive of all non government organisations) associations of owners, community woodlands, and trusts
• local authorities.
For further details on the application criteria please contact Kathryn Williams at Davis Meade Property Consultants on 07971 583638 or email kathrynwilliams@dmpcuk.com
The Sustainable Management Scheme is part of the co-operation and Supply Chain Development Scheme, an important element of the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020
Milk Recording Scheme APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
The European Commission is providing financial support to farmers because of recent difficulties in dairy markets.
Funding is available to support farmers to carry out milk recording. Milk recording is a way to receive impartial information on the productivity, health and fertility of your herd.
The information on the performance of each cow will help you make informed management decisions and increase profitability. Different types of services are available. These vary from a ‘do it yourself’ system to recording being carried out by a trained operator.
The milk recording scheme is voluntary but limited to one payment per Customer Reference Number (CRN). Depending on the number of applications received the payment will be at least £750 to farmers who have, or take out, a milk recording contract. To qualify you must have an existing or new milk recording contract that meets the following condition:
- Individual cow milk recording samples being carried out a minimum of four times per year (these can be DIY or assisted).
Application for the funding must be submitted by 19th August 2017.
Any applications made after that date will not be eligible. Payments will be made to successful applicants by Rural Payments Wales (RPW) in September.
For further details on the application criteria please contact Sarah Wedge on 07946 155998 or email sarahwedge@dmpcuk.com
