All farm businesses in NI will be able to apply for the new phase of the Tier 1 grant scheme, a DAERA spokesperson has confirmed.

The total grant that an applicant could receive across all tranches of Tier 1 had previously been capped at £12,000.

However, DAERA has said that successful applicants from the first and second tranches of the scheme will be eligible to apply again in the third tranche.

“The £12,000 limit for Tier 1 has been ‘reset’ for this tranche,” a DAERA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The scheme, which provides up to 40% grant funding for equipment and machinery costing between £5,000 to £30,000, opens for applications on Monday (2 November).

The new phase of Tier 1 has a budget of £7.5m. If the scheme is over-subscribed, as it was in the previous two tranches, applications will be ranked on points-based selection criteria.

The department spokesperson confirmed that additional points will be given to applicants who have not been successful in previous phases of Tier 1.

TThe biggest change this time round though relates to priority being given to low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE), such as trailing shoe and dribble bar spreaders.

Items that help reduce ammonia emissions, such as LESSE and slurry scrapers, will be grouped in the top priority band which will bring 46 selection points in applications.

All other items will be ranked below this, with band two items getting 40 points, band three receiving 34 points while i band four will be allocated 28 points.

Further details of the revised points system, as well as the new list of eligible items, will not be made available until the scheme opens on Monday.

In previous tranches, points were available for applying for grant funding below DAERA’s reference price for each item. This “value for money” criteria proved vital to whether an applicant was to be successful.

Extra points were also given for online applications, young farmers under 40 and applicants with a level II qualification in agriculture.

Derogation

The DAERA spokesperson confirmed that farmers who operate under a nitrates derogation will also be able to apply for the Tier 1 grant for LESSE.

There had been some doubt that this might not be allowed because derogated farmers are already legally required to use LESSE for all slurry spread after 15 June each year.

The use of LESSE is becoming compulsory for more farmers and all contractors in NI. Under the current Nutrient Action Programme, contractors will not be allowed to use splash plates from 1 February 2021.

One year later, from 1 February 2022, around 1,100 farmers in NI who have over 200 livestock units (20,000kg N for pig farms) will have to use LESSE for all slurry spreading.