Farmers in the Constituency have recently benefited from over £650,000 this year from the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. This will help growers in the Constituency to boost farm productivity, reduce waste and cut input costs, as well as increase environmental sustainability and improve slurry management.
Through this fund, the Government is offering investment in over 90 pieces of equipment which will support food security by, for example, reducing the spread of pests and diseases and sustainably managing valuable nutrients on farm. Examples of successful applications include rainwater harvesting tanks to improve water security 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 fund forms part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to invest £2.4 billion per year in farming for the rest of this Parliament. In 2023 alone, at least £168 million is being made available to increase farming productivity through 16 different grants and competitions themed around productivity, research and innovation.
IF you have not been able to access this round of funding, fear not! There will be further rounds to come, alongside larger grants to support further investment in water storage and improving irrigation slurry infrastructure, as well as funding for automation and robotics. This sits alongside Environmental Land Management schemes, where payments for over 200 actions are currently available to farmers across the country.
