Farmers have invested over €500m in their farms over the last five years, since the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II farm investment scheme began.

TAMS has been immensely popular with farmers since it opened five years ago and demand continues to exceed the available budget. To date, €246m worth of grant aid has been paid to 17,900 farmers by the Department of Agriculture, with roughly €150m still to be issued.

There are some 7,700 farmers with approvals who are yet to submit a payment claim.

Following the announcement by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that TAMS is to remain open for applications into 2021, we take a look at the most popular items to date.

By far and away the biggest category of spending has been the young farmer capital investment scheme (YFCIS). In total, 3,258 young farmers have benefited from €117m in grants, more than double that of the next nearest category.

Grant rate

The higher figure is to be expected, as young farmers are entitled to a higher 60% grant rate and are more likely to invest in capital intensive projects.

This is reflected in the most popular items, with mass concrete tanks and animal housing topping the list. The dairy sector has also attracted the majority of new entrants in recent years and milk storage, cooling systems and milking machines feature in the top five items.

The list is rounded out by mobile slurry tanks with attachments, demonstrating the wider move among farmers towards low-emission slurry spreading (LESS) technology.

TAMS helps fuel dairy expansion

The dairy equipment scheme (DES) saw the second-highest spend in grant money. TAMS has broadly aligned with the lifting of milk quotas in 2015 and the expansion of the dairy sector.

In total, 3,298 dairy farmers have sought financial support for investments through TAMS, leading to €49.1m in grant money flowing on to these farms. The top five items were all around the parlour, with in-parlour meal feeding systems topping the list.

It was followed by milk storage, cooling systems and milking machines. Rounding out the top five were the smaller items of water heating and auto washers.

Big demand for fencing

Everyone knows someone who has put up a new shed in recent years through TAMS and most sheep farmers have thought the place could do with a bit of extra fencing.

The popularity of this work can be seen in the animal welfare safety and nutrient storage scheme (AWSNS).

It was the most popular category among farmers, with almost 4,500 applications. The lower value of many of these items is reflected in the grant spend of €39.1m, lower than the dairy spend despite the bigger numbers of applicants.

Sheep fencing tops the list, followed by cattle weighing scales. The more expensive capital items of mass concrete tanks and animal housing are next. Automatic slurry scrapers complete the list.

Low-emission slurry spreading

It’s not too long ago that slurry was almost exclusively spread using a splash plate. As the focus on ammonia emissions and nutrient efficiency has increased, so has the interest in LESS equipment.

Farmers have not been shy about investing in these newer technologies, with €21.6m in grant aid assisting in their purchase.

New tankers with the appropriate attachment attracted the biggest spend, followed by retrofitting a dribble bar to an existing tanker.

Umbilical systems placed third on the list.

Tillage farmers playing catch up

Tillage farmers arrived late to the TAMS field, with the tillage capital investment scheme (TCIS) opening in 2017. Just over 1,000 of these farmers have since managed to get their hands on €16.1m in grant aid for new equipment.

Some farmers have moved away from more conventional methods and minimum disturbance tillage machinery was the most popular item sought by tillage farmers. Sprayers and fertiliser spreaders were two expected inclusions on the most popular list.

The sector has also quickly adapted to newer technologies, with GPS machinery control also making the list.

Pigs, poultry and organic

The two categories with the lowest spends were the pig and poultry investment scheme (PPIS) and the organic capital investment scheme (OCIS).

For pig and poultry farmers, the €80,000 investment ceiling was considered too low to make applying to TAMS worthwhile. Work has been under way to amend this ceiling. Just 108 farmers have drawn down €1.46m in grants.

The organic spend is nearing €2.5m across 408 farmers, with many of the popular investment items having a low reference cost.