Sustainable Biz Magazine - Magazine - Page 4
Over £30m for new
equipment to boost
sustainable food production
£
31 million has been made available
by the UK government for equipment
and technology to boost farm
productivity, increase environmental
sustainability and help slurry management.
Successful applicants can now claim for
grants under the FETF Productivity and
Slurry budget to help cover the costs of over
90 pieces of equipment.
Farmers will benefit from new equipment
and technology to boost sustainable food
production and reduce emissions and waste
after £31 million was made available in the
latest round of the Farming Equipment and
Technology Fund (FETF).
Successful applicants can now claim for
grants under the Productivity and Slurry
budget to help cover the costs of over
90 pieces of equipment, from rainwater
harvesting tanks to reduce water scarcity
for farmers in the summer; tree shears
to help stop the spread of pests and
diseases; to equipment to minimise grass
contamination and ammonia emissions
when spreading slurry.
The Farming Equipment and Technology
Fund provides funding to farming
businesses so they can invest in the
tools they need to improve sustainable
production across agriculture, horticulture
and forestry. Productivity and Slurry grants
will specifically support the procurement
of equipment and technology that will help
farmers use fewer inputs, reduce emissions
and cut waste.
With over 3,000 applications received for
the FETF 2023 Productivity and Slurry
grants, the government is matching this
high demand by increasing the total
funding offered from £17 million to £31
4
million. Twenty-one additional items
have been added under the scheme in
2023, including camera-guided inter-row
sprayers to help reduce herbicide usage,
and mulchers for forestry, orchards and
vineyards to help reduce input costs and
improve carbon retention in the soil.
This will ensure as many farmers as possible
can claim for the equipment they need
to run a profitable farming business that
delivers for both food production and the
environment.
Secretary of State for Food and Farming
Thérèse Coffey said: “The tremendous
interest shown in the FETF 2023
Productivity and Slurry underscores the
determination of our farmers to drive ever
more productive and sustainable farming
practices to keep food on our plates whilst
protecting our important landscapes and
habitats.
“By empowering farms to
invest cash in new kit, we
are ensuring our farmers,
growers and foresters have
the equipment they need
to embrace innovation,
protect the environment,
and contribute to a thriving
and sustainable agricultural
sector."
S USTAI N AB L E B I Z MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2023
Items applied for in the FETF 2023
Productivity and Slurry budget include:
• Direct drill with fertiliser placement for
precision drilling of arable and cover crops
to help reduce crop establishment costs and
increase efficiency of fertiliser usage. 250
applicants to be offered this grant worth
£6.25m.
• Robotic drill and guided hoe – an
autonomous robotic vehicle which can
precisely place seed in the ground and
return to mechanically weed – this helps to
reduce herbicide usage and associated costs.
Ten applications accepted with a value of
£250,000.
• Rainwater harvesting tanks with a
minimum capacity of 5,000 litres which will
help to reduce water scarcity for farmers in
the summer months. This equipment will
now benefit 86 recipients with a value of
£110,802.
• Tree shears with the capacity to fell 300mm
diameter trees to stop the spread of pests
and diseases across our woodlands. This
funding helped 113 recipients with a total
value of £363,747.
• Dribble bars with a minimum working
width of 6m designed to apply slurry to
the soil surface as accurately as possible
to minimise grass contamination and
ammonia emissions. This equipment was
made accessible to 94 farmers, amounting to
a value of £403,200.
• Direct drills with a width of 3m to
conserve moisture and reduces soil erosion.
This initiative assisted 129 applicants,
totalling £1.555m in value.