The new Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) will have an additional 100 sub-investment options than previous tranches of the farm investment scheme.

TAMS will be replaced by the On-farm Capital Investment Scheme under the new CAP, with the first tranche of the new scheme expected to open over the coming weeks.

Farm investments eligible for funding under the will have an environmental component, the Department of Agriculture’s John Muldowney told farmers at the Irish Farmers Journal CAP information meeting in Mullingar last week.

Challenge

“The big challenge that we have with TAMS list is [that] TAMS 2 had a list of maybe 350 sub-investment lines and we are probably bringing that within the range of 450,” Muldowney said.

“Going through it, one of the biggest challenges we had was to try and ensure all the investments had a green element."

When asked on the possibility of a shear grab being included in the new TAMS list, the official stated that machinery items such as the grab could be viewed as a productivity investment, rather than an environmental one.

“I suppose going through it, a shear grab, the association would be for productivity, I take the point of safety to a certain extent, but the productivity, we are trying to watch it for some of those items.”

It is also expected that dairy herds with more than 120 cows will not be eligible to draw down Department funds for the construction of milking facilities in the new scheme.