The first of the TAMS II farm building grant schemes will open for applications from today, Thursday, 28 May. The scheme is for young farmers who recently set up in farming and they will receive a 60% grant rate. The Young Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme (YFS) will give them grant aid for a long list of items, covering most farm enterprises (see pages 4, 5 and 6).
The scheme is jointly funded by the European Union and the national exchequer. Funding for the scheme is limited and all applications are subject to priority rules and selection criteria. The funding pool is set at €120m.
Over the coming weeks, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney will launch a number of additional TAMS II schemes with a 40% grant rate. These will open to older farmers and farmers under 40 who do not qualify for the YFS. They will include, for example, a dairy equipment scheme.
Eligible farmers
The YFS is open to applicants who meet the following main conditions:
Aged between 18 and 40 at time of applying.Set up in farming in the five years before applying.Have agricultural training or obtain it within 36 months of gaining approval under the scheme.Have a minimum of 5ha owned or leased, which has been declared for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or previous EU single payment scheme. Farmers with intensive enterprises are eligible once they generate a minimum of 20 production units. An applicant’s date of set-up will clearly be important. It means the earliest of the following dates: date of joining a Teagasc milk production partnership or Department-registered farm partnership; date first assigned as a sole or joint user of a herd number/other Department identifier; date herd numbers/other Department identifiers were assigned to all of the individuals in the case of joint/partnership/company.
All dates will be examined and the date of set-up will be the date assigned to individuals associated with partnership/companies/joint applications.
A Department identifier means a herd number, pig number, flock number or cereal number. If the education criterion is not met within the specified time, the applicant will not be eligible for the 60% rate and will instead receive the general 40% grant rate.
In the case of a young farmer farming with others, a declaration is required that the young farmer exercises effective and long-term control over the partnership or legal person in terms of decisions related to management, benefits and financial risks, either solely or jointly together with other members of the partnership.
Where an applicant meets the requirement of set-up for the purposes of this scheme, he/she cannot be considered to be set-up again on a subsequent date.
So don’t inadvertently allow your five-year window to run out before applying.
Ceiling
The minimum investment amount is €2,000 excluding VAT and the maximum is €80,000. This means the minimum grant payable is about €1,200 and the maximum is €48,000. Farmers can apply a number of times to this or other TAMS II schemes over the six years of the scheme, but will not receive more than the €48,000 maximum grant amount in that period.
However, an exception is made for applications under the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme (LESS) – these are not subject to the ceiling.
Note that the rules state that no holding can receive grant aid on any investment greater than €80,000 over the six years of the scheme. So you can’t change from operating as a farmer to operating as a limited company and start again with another €80,000 ceiling.
Partnership
In the case of an application by two or more eligible partners in a partnership registered on the Department’s register of farm partnerships, the maximum eligible investment ceiling is increased to €160,000.
Where a registered farm partnership contains one qualifying young farmer, grant aid will be paid at 60% on the first €80,000 and 40% on the remaining balance.
Start date
The scheme comes into operation from 28 May 2015 and will be closed for receipt of applications on 31 December 2020.
Grant amount
The grant aid paid on an investment item will be calculated on the lowest of the following amounts:
The Department’s reference costings applicable at the date of approval; orThe total of the invoices marked paid, net of VAT, together with costs of own contribution in terms of labour and machinery, deemed to be eligible by the Department; orThe cost of the investment proposed by the applicant indicated on their application form.Where there are no reference costings applicable, grant aid will be calculated on the basis of the lower of invoices and proposed cost.
Reference costings will be increased by 33% in respect of investments carried out on the off-shore islands.
Investment items
Grant aid is payable only on approved investment items (see list on pages 4 and 5) and on use of a farmer’s own labour and machinery. Note that for some items, the Department of Agriculture maintains an approved list of suppliers or products and grant aid will be paid only on items on these approved lists. `
Grant aid will not be paid for second-hand materials or equipment. It will not be paid on work carried out by contractors who do not have valid tax clearance.
Applying to the scheme
Applications must be submitted online through www.agfood.ie. To apply online, including via a planner or adviser, a farmer must first be registered for online services with the Department. Instructions for registration can be found online at www.agfood.ie or you can contact agfood online services helpline in the Department’s Portlaoise office on locall 1890-252118 or 0761-064424 or email agfood@agriculture.gov.ie.
Manual application forms will not be accepted. Applications which are submitted in hard copy, including applications which are submitted by hand, will be returned to the applicant as ineligible. Applicants will not be able to amend applications following submission online.
Tranches
The scheme’s €120m funding will be divided into tranches. Each tranche will be open for three months. There are likely to be 22 tranches over the six years of the scheme.
This approach is used to ensure that funding is spread out over the six years for the benefit of as many farmers as possible. The first tranche will run from 28 May 2015 to the end of August 2015.
Prioritising applicants
Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria in order of priority:
Priority will be given to applicants who did not receive approval under the TAMS I Dairy Equipment Scheme, Sheep Fencing and Mobile Equipment Scheme or Farm Safety Scheme. The proposed cost of the project by the applicant. Applicants will be given preference where their proposed costs are lower than the Department’s reference costs.Size of the holding/enterprise. Smaller holdings/enterprises get priority.Having any part of a holding in an Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) will give an applicant priority. Where a valid application does not receive approval in the first tranche, the application will be carried forward to the next tranche, unless withdrawn by the applicant.Aid will not be given for work commenced or equipment purchased before written approval has been conveyed to an applicant. However, the entire application will be rejected if the value of the investment works commenced or equipment purchased prior to approval is greater than or equal to 50% of the total value of investments applied for. The calculation will be based on the lower of proposed or reference costs.
The first of the TAMS II farm building grant schemes will open for applications from today, Thursday, 28 May. The scheme is for young farmers who recently set up in farming and they will receive a 60% grant rate. The Young Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme (YFS) will give them grant aid for a long list of items, covering most farm enterprises (see pages 4, 5 and 6).
The scheme is jointly funded by the European Union and the national exchequer. Funding for the scheme is limited and all applications are subject to priority rules and selection criteria. The funding pool is set at €120m.
Over the coming weeks, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney will launch a number of additional TAMS II schemes with a 40% grant rate. These will open to older farmers and farmers under 40 who do not qualify for the YFS. They will include, for example, a dairy equipment scheme.
Eligible farmers
The YFS is open to applicants who meet the following main conditions:
Aged between 18 and 40 at time of applying.Set up in farming in the five years before applying.Have agricultural training or obtain it within 36 months of gaining approval under the scheme.Have a minimum of 5ha owned or leased, which has been declared for Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or previous EU single payment scheme. Farmers with intensive enterprises are eligible once they generate a minimum of 20 production units. An applicant’s date of set-up will clearly be important. It means the earliest of the following dates: date of joining a Teagasc milk production partnership or Department-registered farm partnership; date first assigned as a sole or joint user of a herd number/other Department identifier; date herd numbers/other Department identifiers were assigned to all of the individuals in the case of joint/partnership/company.
All dates will be examined and the date of set-up will be the date assigned to individuals associated with partnership/companies/joint applications.
A Department identifier means a herd number, pig number, flock number or cereal number. If the education criterion is not met within the specified time, the applicant will not be eligible for the 60% rate and will instead receive the general 40% grant rate.
In the case of a young farmer farming with others, a declaration is required that the young farmer exercises effective and long-term control over the partnership or legal person in terms of decisions related to management, benefits and financial risks, either solely or jointly together with other members of the partnership.
Where an applicant meets the requirement of set-up for the purposes of this scheme, he/she cannot be considered to be set-up again on a subsequent date.
So don’t inadvertently allow your five-year window to run out before applying.
Ceiling
The minimum investment amount is €2,000 excluding VAT and the maximum is €80,000. This means the minimum grant payable is about €1,200 and the maximum is €48,000. Farmers can apply a number of times to this or other TAMS II schemes over the six years of the scheme, but will not receive more than the €48,000 maximum grant amount in that period.
However, an exception is made for applications under the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme (LESS) – these are not subject to the ceiling.
Note that the rules state that no holding can receive grant aid on any investment greater than €80,000 over the six years of the scheme. So you can’t change from operating as a farmer to operating as a limited company and start again with another €80,000 ceiling.
Partnership
In the case of an application by two or more eligible partners in a partnership registered on the Department’s register of farm partnerships, the maximum eligible investment ceiling is increased to €160,000.
Where a registered farm partnership contains one qualifying young farmer, grant aid will be paid at 60% on the first €80,000 and 40% on the remaining balance.
Start date
The scheme comes into operation from 28 May 2015 and will be closed for receipt of applications on 31 December 2020.
Grant amount
The grant aid paid on an investment item will be calculated on the lowest of the following amounts:
The Department’s reference costings applicable at the date of approval; orThe total of the invoices marked paid, net of VAT, together with costs of own contribution in terms of labour and machinery, deemed to be eligible by the Department; orThe cost of the investment proposed by the applicant indicated on their application form.Where there are no reference costings applicable, grant aid will be calculated on the basis of the lower of invoices and proposed cost.
Reference costings will be increased by 33% in respect of investments carried out on the off-shore islands.
Investment items
Grant aid is payable only on approved investment items (see list on pages 4 and 5) and on use of a farmer’s own labour and machinery. Note that for some items, the Department of Agriculture maintains an approved list of suppliers or products and grant aid will be paid only on items on these approved lists. `
Grant aid will not be paid for second-hand materials or equipment. It will not be paid on work carried out by contractors who do not have valid tax clearance.
Applying to the scheme
Applications must be submitted online through www.agfood.ie. To apply online, including via a planner or adviser, a farmer must first be registered for online services with the Department. Instructions for registration can be found online at www.agfood.ie or you can contact agfood online services helpline in the Department’s Portlaoise office on locall 1890-252118 or 0761-064424 or email agfood@agriculture.gov.ie.
Manual application forms will not be accepted. Applications which are submitted in hard copy, including applications which are submitted by hand, will be returned to the applicant as ineligible. Applicants will not be able to amend applications following submission online.
Tranches
The scheme’s €120m funding will be divided into tranches. Each tranche will be open for three months. There are likely to be 22 tranches over the six years of the scheme.
This approach is used to ensure that funding is spread out over the six years for the benefit of as many farmers as possible. The first tranche will run from 28 May 2015 to the end of August 2015.
Prioritising applicants
Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria in order of priority:
Priority will be given to applicants who did not receive approval under the TAMS I Dairy Equipment Scheme, Sheep Fencing and Mobile Equipment Scheme or Farm Safety Scheme. The proposed cost of the project by the applicant. Applicants will be given preference where their proposed costs are lower than the Department’s reference costs.Size of the holding/enterprise. Smaller holdings/enterprises get priority.Having any part of a holding in an Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) will give an applicant priority. Where a valid application does not receive approval in the first tranche, the application will be carried forward to the next tranche, unless withdrawn by the applicant.Aid will not be given for work commenced or equipment purchased before written approval has been conveyed to an applicant. However, the entire application will be rejected if the value of the investment works commenced or equipment purchased prior to approval is greater than or equal to 50% of the total value of investments applied for. The calculation will be based on the lower of proposed or reference costs.
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