The third tranche of the Tier 1 grant scheme opened for applications on Monday with applications to be in by 4pm on Friday 4 December 2020. The list of eligible machinery and equipment has been revised by DAERA and 210 items are available for grant funding from the £7.5m budget.

There are 17 more items listed this time when compared to the second tranche in January 2018. The difference is mainly due to some slurry spreading equipment being subdivided into more specific items. One of the few pieces of equipment to drop off the list in the third tranche is zero grazers.

DAERA has also reviewed its reference prices for all eligible items and in most cases they have moved upwards. This is used to set the maximum grant rate, which is calculated as 40% of the reference price for each item. Projects under the Tier 1 scheme must have a total cost between £5,000 and £30,000, excluding VAT. The maximum grant NI farmers can receive across this tranche and any subsequent Tier 1 tranche is £12,000.

Points score

All applications receive a points-based score which will be used to rank applications if, like the previous two tranches, the scheme is oversubscribed.

Each eligible item in the list has a band number from one to four, which allocates 46 to 28 points based on how the item is prioritised by DAERA.

Rubber slat mats are in band two.

Equipment that helps reduce ammonia emissions is top priority for DAERA, so low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE) falls in band one and receives 46 points. This includes trailing shoe and dribble bar equipment, as well as associated items such as tankers and umbilical hose reels.

DAERA guidance states that, if Tier 1 funded LESSE is being mounted on to an existing slurry tanker, an engineer’s certificate is needed before claiming the grant. Other band one items include slurry scrapers and slurry store covers.

There are 40 points available for band two items, such as rubber slats, heat detection systems, milk meters and some specialist tillage equipment. Band three items have 34 points and include livestock trailers and various items for horticulture businesses. There are 28 points available for band four items, such as diet feeders and feed bins.

If a farmer goes for various items across several bands, the entire application is scored according to the lowest scoring item that they apply for.

Value for money

Points are available for all applicants, regardless of the item’s band number, under the value-for-money criteria. This incentivises farmers to apply for less than the maximum grant that DAERA has allocated for each item.

Livestock trailers are in band three.

For every 1% below the maximum grant, 1.95 points are awarded, going up to a maximum of 39 points for applications which are 20% below the maximum grant. If several items are applied for, an average is taken across all items when calculating value-for-money points.

Five points are available for applicants who have not been successful in previous tranches of Tier 1. Applicants who were under 40 years of age on 31 October 2020 will get five points and anyone who holds at least a level II qualification in agriculture will also receive five points.

Online applications only for new tranche

Unlike the previous two tranches of Tier 1, there is no paper application option for this tranche.

Dungannon-based Countryside Services are again administering the scheme and the easiest way to access the online application is through their website.

As part of the process, applicants are asked a series of questions about how the proposed project fits in with their farm’s business plan. Applicants also need to get “an indication of support letter” from a bank to confirm that sufficient finds are available to complete the project.

Diet feeders are in band four.

An online safety course has to be completed as part of the application. Anyone who applied to previous tranches of Tier 1 needs to do this again for the third tranche.

Successful applicants will receive a “letter of offer” from DAERA. From that date, they have four months to purchase their items and submit a claim for grant funding. All Tier 1 funded equipment and machinery must be new and paid for in full by the applicant.

Items must be installed and operational within 12 months of the letter of offer. Supplier invoices which show that items were purchased before the letter of offer date will make the claim ineligible.