There has been strong demand for the first round of the new capital grant scheme in NI, figures released by DAERA indicate.

“Almost 4,000 farm businesses have submitted applications from across all farming sectors,” a department spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Under the Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme, a grant rate of 40% is available for farm equipment and technology that costs between £3,000 and £62,500, meaning the maximum grant is £25,000. The scheme has a planned budget of £40m, which is to be delivered over several rounds.

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While the exact budget for the first round remains unclear, the strong demand means not all submissions will be successful.

“Given the very high level of interest in the scheme, the number and value of offers which can be issued will be subject to budget availability,” the DAERA spokesperson said.

In particular, grant applications for low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE) are to get priority and there were over 500 applications for LESSE in the first round.

“Submitted applications will now be scored and ranked to allow letters of offer to issue as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.