SCHOOL EDITION 22 MARCH 2023 - Flipbook - Page 5
NEWS
FARMWEEK
JANUARY 28 2021
5
FBIS Capital Tier 1 funding doubles to £15m
T
HE amount of money available
under the latest tranche of
Tier 1 of the Farm Business
Improvement Scheme (FBIS) has
been doubled to £15 million.
Agriculture Minister Edwin
Poots took the decision following
the huge response to his call
for farm businesses to invest in
Low Emissions Slurry Spreading
Equipment (LESSE).
Now the third tranche of Tier 1
of the Farm Business Improvement
Scheme – Capital (FBIS-C), which
closed on December 4, will offer up
to £15 million in support for smaller
scale investments to improve the
sustainability of farm businesses.
Mr Poots said: “I am delighted to
see such a positive response to the
third tranche of Tier 1 FBIS Capital,
particularly for Low Emission Slurry
Spreading Equipment.
“It highlights the willingness
of our farmers and growers to
invest in the sustainability of their
businesses.
“I want to support that willingness
to invest by doubling the allocation
for this tranche from £7.5 million to
£15 million.
“This will have a positive knock-on
effect for many local agricultural
and horticultural supply businesses
and will contribute to my aim to
develop a sustainable agricultural
industry in Northern Ireland.”
Over 3,800 applications were
received to the third tranche of
the scheme, which is designed to
support small scale investments
that will improve the sustainability
of farm businesses through the
purchase of equipment and
machinery costing from £5,000
to £30,000 from a list of eligible
items.
Letters of Offer will begin to issue
for eligible applications from early
February, commencing with those
receiving the highest score and
continuing over a number of weeks
until the available budget is fully
allocated.
NEW
PRODUCT
RANGE
Keeping frosty in the
north Antrim snow
WINTER FUN: Bobby and Ella Kirkpatrick play in the snow on
Saturday morning after a heavy snow fall in north Antrim.
PICTURE: Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia
Petition to call for
better broadband
in the Sperrins
A
N online public petition
to draw attention to the
plight of poor broadband
provision in the Sperrins
region has been launched by West
Tyrone MLA Declan McAleer.
Mr McAleer, who is also chair
of the Assembly’s Rural Affairs
committee, said: “Broadband
provision in most parts of the
Sperrins is non-existent and
according to the NI Statistics &
Research Agency, the Plumbridge
‘Super Output Area’ which takes
in areas like Cranagh is the No.1
most deprived area in the North
for ‘Access to Services’.
“The lack of broadband is having
a detrimental impact on people’s
health and well-being, especially
during the lockdown. It has
increased isolation, negatively
impacted on local businesses
and on people’s ability to work
from home.
“As a consequence of little or
no broadband, children cannot
benet from home learning
during the Covid restrictions
and this is having a profound
impact on them, their families
and their teachers and I have
been contacted by many anxious
and frustrated parents about this
issue. The Sperrins is a strong
farming region and the fact that
most interactions with DAERA
now take place online is placing
farmers in this area in a very
challenging situation.
“For several years, we have
been working very closely with
the Department for the Economy
on Project Stratum to ensure
that it targets isolated rural
communities.
“Whilst Stratum will deliver
superfast broadband to most
homes in the Sperrins area, in
most cases this will not be for
nearly three years (Winter 2023)
and even then there will still be
some homes not linked up.
“The petition calls on the
Economy Minister Diane Dodds
for her department to enhance
what broadband provision is
currently available and for her
department to work in partnership with other government
departments and the Department
for Digital, Culture, Media &
Sport in Westminster to improve
provision and develop a scheme
to reach homes that are not
currently included in the Project
Stratum intervention area.”
Mr McAleer concluded: “I have
spoken to the Business ofce
in Stormont to secure a slot in
February to present the public
petition at a plenary session
of the Assembly. I hope that
this will help draw attention to
the issue and help bring about
improvement to the service.”
n The petition is called ‘Broadband For The Sperrins’ and can
be accessed on the change.org
website
MANAGING MILK FEVER
in dairy cows
Milk fever is the most common metabolic disorder of dairy cows and impacts
their welfare and productivity. Readily available forms of calcium can be given
around the time of calving to reduce the risk of clinical and sub-clinical milk fever,
or as a supportive therapy following intravenous infusion of calcium.
®
®
(New formulation)
Licensed for the treatment of
hypocalcaemia where increased blood
magnesium levels are also required
Each 175g bolus contains 45g
calcium and 40,000 iu vitamin D3
USE MEDICINES RESPONSIBLY. Calciject® 40 CM manufactured in NI by: Norbrook Laboratories Limited, Station Works, Newry, Co. Down, BT35 6JP.
Legal Category:
Each 400ml contains: 11.9g calcium (provided by calcium gluconate and calcium borogluconate), 1.85g magnesium (provided by magnesium
hypophosphite), 6.84% w/v boric acid. For further details on this product including the dosage regimens, side effects, precautions, warnings and contraindications please
see the summary of product characteristics (SPC) available at www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/ProductInformationDatabase/Search.aspx | Advice on the use of this product should
be sought from the medicine prescriber. Calcitrace® D3 and Calcitrace® P are dietetic mineral feeds. Distributed in NI by: Norbrook Laboratories Limited, StationWorks,
Newry, Co. Down, BT35 6JP. | 5155-LA(C)-v1a-NI-19/01/21
Each 500ml bottle contains 59g
calcium and 45g phosphorus