The replacement for TAMS II has been launched in the form of TAMS III, with several changes made to reference costs, eligible items and grant rates.
Reference costs
All associated beef housing, to include slatted and dry bedded areas, have received a 15% increase in reference costs, with dairy housing encompassing cubicles on both slatted and solid flooring receiving the same percentage increase.
Bull pens, calving pens and isolation pens have been included in the scheme, with calf accommodation with and without penning listed as grant aidable items.
Unroofed and roofed feed passages, as well as suspended feed passages have been listed, as well as the inclusion of slatted feed areas. All the above items have received a 15% increase in reference costs.
Sheep and goat accommodation have seen reference costs jump by 15%.
Farmers can avail of the new TAMS III grant for both slatted and loose bedded accommodation, with separate costings for penned and non-penned investments.
All handling equipment that was eligible for grant aid under TAMS II has been carried forward into TAMS III.
With regard to bovine handling, a range of permanent and mobile races, skulling gates, batch AI crushes, leg hoists and head scoops, as well as any concrete works or the roofing of handling units, are eligible for the new TAMS grant, with all bar a concrete floor for a cattle enclosure seeing reference costs increase by 15%.
Flooring for cattle yards has seen a smaller increase of 5% for its costs.
Sheep penning, both mobile and fixed, has seen all costs associated with it increase by the common 15% figure, bar EID reading equipment which has surprisingly seen a 0% increase on the April 2022 figure.
Sheep fencing for both ordinary and mountain sheep mesh with one strand of wire has seen a 10% increase in reference costs, with new costs of €7.36 and €9.61/m, respectively.
Gateways have seen a 15% increase in reference costs, rising to €388.70 per gateway.
The construction of new farm roadways was a surprise inclusion in TAMS III, with a grant rate of €24.90 per linear metre. \ Ramona Farrelly
Silage and slurry stores have seen a reduced rate, with only a 5% increase in reference costs attributed to the majority of works associated with creating storage.
Manhole covers
Installing manhole covers in new tanks or replacing manhole covers on existing tanks, as well as roofing of a manure pit, have seen increases of 15% on the April 2022 costings.
The increase in reference costs, while welcomed, will still fall short of actual costs for many developments as the updated costings for TAMS II fell well short of the mark when it came to construction costs.
New items: underpasses, farm roads and drafting
With a total of 50 new items across the board, there are several that will be of interest to livestock and tillage farmers.
Farm roadways have made a shock appearance on the list, with a reference cost of €24.90 per linear metre. Likewise, electric fencing for cattle, solar fencing units and cattle gateways have all made it on to the TAMS III list.
As was heavily rumoured, cattle underpasses have been included for TAMS III with a reference cost of €5,000 per linear metre.
Dairy and beef farmers have been well serviced when it comes to heat detection aids, with collars/tags/boluses grant-aided to the tune of €112.25 per unit, with base stations (including software) given a reference cost of €2,833 per unit.
Livestock monitoring cameras (calving/lambing cameras) were a welcome surprise to the list, with a reference cost of €432 per camera, alongside drafting systems for dairy herds.
Milk meters have been included for the first time, with a reference cost of €1,145 per unit, while slurry separators have also made their TAMS debut.
In an effort to keep livestock out of waterways and drains, solar-powered water pumps and nose pumps have been listed.
The equine industry should be extremely pleased with the new TAMS III, as it had been locked out of any grant aid in previous versions.
Now, the new TAMS covers a wide variety of investments needed to develop any yard to include both housing and exercise developments.
American-style, loose housing and in-line stables, as well as tack rooms and feed storage, have all been listed in the new scheme, as well as the surprising inclusion of gallops, lunge rings, exercise arenas and covered and uncovered walkers. As to how eligibility will be calculated is yet unknown, but TAMS III can be seen as extremely positive for the industry.
The potato industry too, has been well-serviced, with a range of items now included in TAMS to deal with storage investments for potato growers.
Seed potato storage, ventilation and refrigeration systems, drying walls (letterbox style), as well as temperature controls and door upgrades will all now be eligible for grant aid.
Despite the inclusion of cow collars, milk meters, fencing, roadways and underpasses, many dairy farmers will feel hard done regarding the new TAMS.
Parlour structures, dairies, plant rooms and associated investments in collecting yards have been omitted from the list, although the new scheme will cover milking equipment in the form of grant aid for new clusters, for new parlours or extensions, as well as for robotic milking machines, although rotary parlours have not been included.
In-parlour meal feeders, augers and troughs have also been removed in this news TAMS III list.
Farm safety: 60% grant rate
Receiving the greatest expansion in the areas that it covers is farm health and safety.
The main benefit farmers will see in investments falling under the farm health and safety category is an increased grant rate of 60%, irrespective of age, education or gender.
Previously listed investments such as safety rails on silage walls, replacing hinged doors with sliding/roller doors and retrofitting safety cages under roof skylights have all been re-added, as well as rewiring older buildings and installing LED yard lights.
In an effort to increase farm safety regarding livestock, a range of investments for both mobile and fixed handling units for sheep and cattle, as well as EID tag readers, head scoops, leg hoists, weighing scales and calving gates have all been included under the farm safety heading, making them eligible for the higher grant rate.
Fixed and mobile cattle and sheep handling units will be eligible for a 60% grant rate under the farm health and safety element.
The previously mentioned livestock monitoring cameras, as well as calf dehorning crates, are also listed in this section.
Investments
The farm safety heading also captures a range of investments regarding slurry stores, mainly the improvement and refurbishment of existing stores.
New safety fencing and agitation platforms for external stores have been listed, as well as the replacement of damaged slats or existing internal agitation points for cattle, sheep and pigs are all now eligible for 60% grant aid.
The extension of slurry tanks to include external agitation, as well as circulation pipes and simple aeration systems, have all now been included under the farm safety umbrella, as the Department of Agriculture highlights its preference to remove agitation points from areas accessible to livestock.
Organics, like farm safety, will benefit from a higher grant rate of 60%, which should go someway to allowing farmers to tailor animal housing to organic standards.
Hay/straw stores, as well as organic housing for poultry and pigs, fall under the organic heading, while cattle and sheep farmers will again be able to avail of grant aid to replace existing slotted slats with solid slabs, if required.
The replacement for TAMS II has been launched in the form of TAMS III, with several changes made to reference costs, eligible items and grant rates.
Reference costs
All associated beef housing, to include slatted and dry bedded areas, have received a 15% increase in reference costs, with dairy housing encompassing cubicles on both slatted and solid flooring receiving the same percentage increase.
Bull pens, calving pens and isolation pens have been included in the scheme, with calf accommodation with and without penning listed as grant aidable items.
Unroofed and roofed feed passages, as well as suspended feed passages have been listed, as well as the inclusion of slatted feed areas. All the above items have received a 15% increase in reference costs.
Sheep and goat accommodation have seen reference costs jump by 15%.
Farmers can avail of the new TAMS III grant for both slatted and loose bedded accommodation, with separate costings for penned and non-penned investments.
All handling equipment that was eligible for grant aid under TAMS II has been carried forward into TAMS III.
With regard to bovine handling, a range of permanent and mobile races, skulling gates, batch AI crushes, leg hoists and head scoops, as well as any concrete works or the roofing of handling units, are eligible for the new TAMS grant, with all bar a concrete floor for a cattle enclosure seeing reference costs increase by 15%.
Flooring for cattle yards has seen a smaller increase of 5% for its costs.
Sheep penning, both mobile and fixed, has seen all costs associated with it increase by the common 15% figure, bar EID reading equipment which has surprisingly seen a 0% increase on the April 2022 figure.
Sheep fencing for both ordinary and mountain sheep mesh with one strand of wire has seen a 10% increase in reference costs, with new costs of €7.36 and €9.61/m, respectively.
Gateways have seen a 15% increase in reference costs, rising to €388.70 per gateway.
The construction of new farm roadways was a surprise inclusion in TAMS III, with a grant rate of €24.90 per linear metre. \ Ramona Farrelly
Silage and slurry stores have seen a reduced rate, with only a 5% increase in reference costs attributed to the majority of works associated with creating storage.
Manhole covers
Installing manhole covers in new tanks or replacing manhole covers on existing tanks, as well as roofing of a manure pit, have seen increases of 15% on the April 2022 costings.
The increase in reference costs, while welcomed, will still fall short of actual costs for many developments as the updated costings for TAMS II fell well short of the mark when it came to construction costs.
New items: underpasses, farm roads and drafting
With a total of 50 new items across the board, there are several that will be of interest to livestock and tillage farmers.
Farm roadways have made a shock appearance on the list, with a reference cost of €24.90 per linear metre. Likewise, electric fencing for cattle, solar fencing units and cattle gateways have all made it on to the TAMS III list.
As was heavily rumoured, cattle underpasses have been included for TAMS III with a reference cost of €5,000 per linear metre.
Dairy and beef farmers have been well serviced when it comes to heat detection aids, with collars/tags/boluses grant-aided to the tune of €112.25 per unit, with base stations (including software) given a reference cost of €2,833 per unit.
Livestock monitoring cameras (calving/lambing cameras) were a welcome surprise to the list, with a reference cost of €432 per camera, alongside drafting systems for dairy herds.
Milk meters have been included for the first time, with a reference cost of €1,145 per unit, while slurry separators have also made their TAMS debut.
In an effort to keep livestock out of waterways and drains, solar-powered water pumps and nose pumps have been listed.
The equine industry should be extremely pleased with the new TAMS III, as it had been locked out of any grant aid in previous versions.
Now, the new TAMS covers a wide variety of investments needed to develop any yard to include both housing and exercise developments.
American-style, loose housing and in-line stables, as well as tack rooms and feed storage, have all been listed in the new scheme, as well as the surprising inclusion of gallops, lunge rings, exercise arenas and covered and uncovered walkers. As to how eligibility will be calculated is yet unknown, but TAMS III can be seen as extremely positive for the industry.
The potato industry too, has been well-serviced, with a range of items now included in TAMS to deal with storage investments for potato growers.
Seed potato storage, ventilation and refrigeration systems, drying walls (letterbox style), as well as temperature controls and door upgrades will all now be eligible for grant aid.
Despite the inclusion of cow collars, milk meters, fencing, roadways and underpasses, many dairy farmers will feel hard done regarding the new TAMS.
Parlour structures, dairies, plant rooms and associated investments in collecting yards have been omitted from the list, although the new scheme will cover milking equipment in the form of grant aid for new clusters, for new parlours or extensions, as well as for robotic milking machines, although rotary parlours have not been included.
In-parlour meal feeders, augers and troughs have also been removed in this news TAMS III list.
Farm safety: 60% grant rate
Receiving the greatest expansion in the areas that it covers is farm health and safety.
The main benefit farmers will see in investments falling under the farm health and safety category is an increased grant rate of 60%, irrespective of age, education or gender.
Previously listed investments such as safety rails on silage walls, replacing hinged doors with sliding/roller doors and retrofitting safety cages under roof skylights have all been re-added, as well as rewiring older buildings and installing LED yard lights.
In an effort to increase farm safety regarding livestock, a range of investments for both mobile and fixed handling units for sheep and cattle, as well as EID tag readers, head scoops, leg hoists, weighing scales and calving gates have all been included under the farm safety heading, making them eligible for the higher grant rate.
Fixed and mobile cattle and sheep handling units will be eligible for a 60% grant rate under the farm health and safety element.
The previously mentioned livestock monitoring cameras, as well as calf dehorning crates, are also listed in this section.
Investments
The farm safety heading also captures a range of investments regarding slurry stores, mainly the improvement and refurbishment of existing stores.
New safety fencing and agitation platforms for external stores have been listed, as well as the replacement of damaged slats or existing internal agitation points for cattle, sheep and pigs are all now eligible for 60% grant aid.
The extension of slurry tanks to include external agitation, as well as circulation pipes and simple aeration systems, have all now been included under the farm safety umbrella, as the Department of Agriculture highlights its preference to remove agitation points from areas accessible to livestock.
Organics, like farm safety, will benefit from a higher grant rate of 60%, which should go someway to allowing farmers to tailor animal housing to organic standards.
Hay/straw stores, as well as organic housing for poultry and pigs, fall under the organic heading, while cattle and sheep farmers will again be able to avail of grant aid to replace existing slotted slats with solid slabs, if required.
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