Over 3,800 farm businesses in NI have applied to the latest tranche of the Tier 1 capital grant scheme. With a budget of £7.5m, well over half of applicants are likely to be unsuccessful.

The average grant in the first two tranches of the scheme was around £4,800 and if this happened again it would allow just over 1,500 farmers to receive letters of offer.

It means the available budget will be used up more quickly

However, a DAERA spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal there was “particular interest” among applicants in the third tranche for low-emission slurry spreading equipment.

These items are being prioritised by DAERA and are generally more expensive than other Tier 1 equipment. It means the available budget will be used up more quickly and a lower success rate is to be expected in the third tranche, particularly for items outside of band one.

Unlikely

Those who opted to apply for a full 40% grant (no marks for value for money) are extremely unlikely to be successful.

The record number of applications highlights the ongoing appetite from farmers for the scheme

“It will be necessary to carry out eligibility checks before confirming the number and value of applications. Following this, it will be possible to give a likely timescale for issuing letters of offer to successful applicants,” the DAERA spokesperson said.

The record number of applications highlights the ongoing appetite from farmers for the scheme, and gives DAERA Minister Edwin Poots a sound basis to follow up on his commitment of delivering more tranches of Tier 1.