Question: I am not in a position to apply to the scheme in 2015. Will the scheme open again next year for young farmers with a 20% top-up on the 40% grant rate?

Answer: Yes. The scheme remains open up to the end of 2020.

Question: I turn 40 years of age this month. Is the cut-off maximum age when you turn 40 or 41?

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Answer: You will no longer be eligible. You are eligible up to the date of your 40th birthday, but ineligible the next day.

Question: Could you clarify if the maximum investment amount doubles to €160,000 in a partnership where a young farmer (qualifying as a YFS applicant) goes into partnership with father?

Answer: Yes, the maximum investment ceiling will double, but the portion that is eligible for grant aid at the 60% rate most likely will not. However, if both partners in a DAFM-registered partnership qualify as eligible young farmers, then the full €160,000 can attract the 60% rate of aid.

Question: My son is farming with me under a joint herd number. Will that allow him qualify for grant aid under the new scheme? He meets the educational requirements.

Answer: A young farmer, farming with his father under a joint herd number, is not eligible for the increased rate of aid. In order to qualify, the young farmer must be set up in his own right, under his own herd number or other Department identifier, or be farming as part of a DAFM-registered partnership and meet the various other conditions of the scheme. The other identifiers include pig herd numbers, sheep flock numbers or cereal numbers. A key requirement of this scheme is that the applicant is not set up more than five years. On this matter, date of set up for your son would be the date he was first assigned as a joint user of the herd number.

Question: I am not on the farm herd number for the Basic Payment Scheme application this year. To be eligible for the Young Farmers Scheme do I need to have been on the herd number at time of applying for the BPS? Or can I transfer on to the herd number at a later date this year so as to apply for the YFS?

Answer: As stated above, if a son joins the herd number with the father, this does NOT qualify the son for YFS.

If the father transfers (gift/inheritance) the holding and herd number to a son/daughter after the closing date for the BPS, the father’s BPS application will be considered. The Department will allow for succession cases.

Question: After getting approval, how long do you have to carry out works?

Answer: The terms and conditions state that “all works must be completed and a valid claim for payment received by the Department within three years of the date of issue of approval – or by a date specified in the letter of approval, whichever is earlier”. So, for any significant investment, eg involving building work, you’ll have three years to do it.

Question: Do plans need to be submitted for a robotic milking machine?

Answer: Installing a robotic milking machine does not require planning permission or detailed drawings. It does require a farmyard sketch showing where the milking machine will go. However, any new parlour building for which grant aid is being sought over or around a robotic milking machine will require planning permission and detailed drawings.

Question: I plan to put up a shed with a slatted tank but I will build the tank first. Will I be able to then apply for grant aid on the structure that is above ground?

Answer: Yes. You could build the tank now without grant aid and then apply to the scheme when putting a shed over it. But there are certain conditions – see terms and conditions. An engineer’s report will be required certifying that the tank is sound, capable of supporting the superstructure, watertight and capable of continuous use for a minimum of 20 years. In practice, this means the tank must be done to full Department of Agriculture specification. In particular, you should make arrangements for a foundation for the shed roof pillars. For example, that could be either pads outside the walls of the tank or could be done by widening the tank wall where the roof pillars will eventually stand. You would need to obtain proper technical advice on this point.

Question: I’m 31 years old and I have been farming more than five years. Am I eligible for the 60% grant?

Answer: Based on the information you provide, the answer is No. If you are farming in your own right for more than five years, you are not eligible. You may be able to apply for the general 40% grant scheme when that opens.

Question: I have an existing underground tank which was built in the 1970s for pig production. Can I apply to the scheme for grant aid to install a simple aeration system? The tank is 200ft long and 30ft wide. I am tillage farming but wish to take in excess slurry from livestock farmers. I hope to store it in this tank ahead of land spreading.

Answer: Yes. You will be able to apply for a simple aeration system.

Question: I am a tillage farmer. There have been plenty of schemes in the recent past for dairying etc. Is there anything coming down the line for tillage farmers in the TAMS II scheme?

Answer: Grant aid will be available under the Young Farmers Capital Investment and Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Schemes to assist tillage farmers for the construction of nutrient storage facilities, and storage facilities for other farmyard manures, soiled water, and related facilities, as well as farm-safety investments.