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Further amendments are being made to the specifications of the tillage TAMS. The modifications to the scheme will see some of the conditions considered by farmers as unnecessarily restrictive removed. The changes come following further consultation between Department of Agriculture officials and IFA representatives.
The big change sees fertiliser spreaders now fully eligible for TAMS approval. Previously, only the GPS for spreaders was covered by the scheme. Any machine that has the capacity to vary the width of spread will now be eligible, along with the necessary GPS equipment to control spreading to avoid overlaps.
The requirement for weigh cells to be on machines has already been removed from the most recent specifications (April 2017) currently on the department website. A lot of existing machines, which do not have weigh cells, do have vari-width capacity, and are capable of GPS control.
Sprayers are also to benefit from less restrictive specifications. The amendment will see the requirement for the outside sections to be no more than 1.5m now adjusted.
Further restrictions lifted
In addition, factory-fitted GPS equipment on new tractors and combines will be eligible for approval. While there is a requirement that any grant-aided machine be purchased outright, if a trade-in is made against a new combine or tractor, and its value exceeds the cost of the grant-aided GPS equipment, the trade-in can be set against the equipment, which must, in this instance, be separately invoiced.
As yet, no list of approved equipment exists, and farmers need to be certain that any machine they buy is eligible for grant aid. No purchase can be finalised in advance of grant approval, still months away.
TAMS equipment does not have to be purchased in Ireland. Approved items can be purchased in Northern Ireland, mainland Britain, or indeed on the continent, provided they carry a CE mark.
IFA grain chair Liam Dunne received clarification from the Department on this subject, and welcomed their willingness to engage and refine the specifications of the scheme to make it as accessible as possible. Dunne added that items the IFA would like to see in future tranches of the TAMS for tillage farmers include low-ground-pressure tyres for tractors and tracks for combines. “These would improve the soil structure through reduced compaction,” Dunne explained, with operational and fuel efficiencies accruing.
In addition, short-term storage facilities for grain are emerging as a necessity on many farms, particularly those harvesting added-value crops with restricted delivery arrangements.
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