There will be a 120-cow limit in TAMS III for farmers looking to invest in milking parlours or robots, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.

A further limit of 160 cows will be imposed on those in registered farm partnerships and those in the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme.

“For applications under the Dairy Equipment Capital Investment Scheme, Women Farmers Capital Investment Scheme and Organic Capital Investment Scheme, applicants may apply for up to 10 milking units in a herringbone parlour, or one robotic milking machine, if they have less than 120 cows on average over the year preceding the making of an application,” he said in response to a parliamentary question from Carol Nolan.

He added that the limit only relates to milking machine investments and does not apply to any other TAMS investments.

Meanwhile, Macra has written to TDs on the 120-cow cap. It also highlights that farmers who received previous grant support for robots will not receive funding for another in TAMS III.

This appears to be at odds with the Department’s statement on the opening of the new scheme. Last week it said: “Under TAMS III, the ceiling for investment will be reset to €90,000 per holding for the duration of the scheme. This means every farmer who benefitted under TAMS II can reapply in full under the new scheme.”

Given that there are in excess of 2,000 milking robots on farms, it places these farmers at a significant disadvantage when compared to their counterparts in herringbone systems who can avail of support for parlours up to 10 units, Macra stated.

It has called for the condition to be removed, citing it as “unfair and discriminatory”.