There has been a massive surge in the number of TAMS applications that have been made for rotary and robotic milking parlours over the past four years, according to exclusive figures obtained by the Irish Farmers Journal.

In the course of the last four years, the Irish dairy industry has seen more and more farmers examining options outside of a conventional parlour when it comes to upgrading their milking equipment.

Since 2015, a total of 74 applications have been made by farmers wishing to install a rotary milking parlour. Of these, 20 applications have been made by farmers in Co Cork, three times more than the nearest county, Tipperary, which has six applications to date.

The number of applications continues to rise, with 27 applications made in 2018, which was up from 21 in 2017 and 12 in 2016.

Looking at the figures for farmers who have been paid to date, they lag some way behind the total number of applications.

Currently, only 29 rotary applications have been paid, less than half of those that were applied for.

However, it is likely that many of last year’s projects have not been completed or submitted for payment claim.

The reference costs for rotary milking parlours are calculated by multiplying the number of cluster units by €4,750. For example, a 50-unit rotary would have a reference cost of €237,000 excluding the VAT.

Of this, a general applicant would be eligible for a 40% grant aid on the first €80,000 of the investment, while a young farmer would be eligible for 60% grant on the first €80,000. If a young farmer and a general applicant were to enter into a partnership, they would be able to avail of the equivalent of 50% grant aid on the first €160,000 of the investment.

Nearly €40m worth of robots

The figures also reveal the growing trend towards robotic milking machines, with a total of 360 applications since 2015. With a reference cost of €109,250 excluding VAT, this would see farmers investing €39.2m in robotic milking parlours, if all of these applications are constructed. The reference cost for the robot includes the buffer tank, milk cooler and feeder.

To date, only 138 robotic milking machines have been paid out grant aid. Again we see Co Cork as the main county for robotic milking machine applications through TAMS, with 47 to date. Tipperary is second with 33 applications and Kilkenny has 30 applications.

While the growth in robotic milking machines and rotaries has been stark, conventional parlours are still some way ahead. Since TAMS II was opened in 2015, there have been a total of 2,289 applications for conventional parlours. However, only 983 of these have been completed and received grant aid through the scheme.

Low completion rate

Of the total applications for milking machines, only 42% have been completed and have received grant aid, or 1,150 out of 2,723. This is a trend that the Department is seeing right through TAMS where the completion rates for projects is lagging well behind what was expected.

Where a farmer makes a successful application to the scheme but then does not carry out the work, this has the impact of tying up funds to the scheme until that farmer’s approval runs out.

One issue with this is that in the first few years of the scheme, farmers were given three years to complete works once they got approval.

This had the knock-on effect of large underspends in the scheme in the first few years. This has now been changed, with farmers having six to 12 months to complete an investment and make a payment claim, depending on the project.

A much clearer picture of exactly how much money is left in the TAMS pot will develop over the coming months as many of the three-year approvals will lapse. The money allocated to these projects will then filter back into the budget of the scheme.

Work through the scheme is expected to ramp up over the coming year, with farmers only eligible to make an application up until 31 December 2020. They then have until the end of 2021 to complete the work and submit a payment claim.

With a total of 19,886 projects having received approval through the scheme to date, if all of these were to receive the average payment it would mean that €291m would be committed to the scheme

The total allocated budget for TAMS is €395m, with just €126m issued to 8,609 farmers to date; this would equate to an average payment of €14,635.

With a total of 19,886 projects having received approval through the scheme to date, if all of these were to receive the average payment it would mean that €291m would be committed to the scheme.

Northern Ireland

While robotic parlours are beginning to get a strong foothold in the Republic of Ireland, installations are really ramping up in Northern Ireland, with more than 150 robots believed to have been purchased by farmers in 2018 alone, with similar figures predicted for 2019, according to suppliers.

The two main players in the robotic milking market are Lely, which recently launched its new A5 Astronaut, and DeLaval, which recently launched its V300.

A combination of new entrants into the sector and growing herds has seen more and more farmers moving away from conventional parlours.

However, the main driver is still the reduced labour demands coupled with the increased milkings per day for a robotic parlour. This is particularly attractive for high-yielding herds.

Young farmer query

I want to apply through the scheme but I have another year left of college, what are my options?

A young farmer is eligible for the 20% top-up if the correct education certificates are uploaded at the time of the payment claim.

It is important to note that any farmer investing through the scheme must have use of the investment for five years from the date of payment

However, if they do not have their education completed they can still make a payment claim and receive 40% grant aid.

They then have three years to complete the education requirements and once completed and the documents uploaded, they will receive the remaining 20% grant aid.

It is important to note that any farmer investing through the scheme must have use of the investment for five years from the date of payment.

If it is less than this, the farmer will be liable for a clawback of grant aid paid by the Department.