Stephen Cadogan: No TAMS grant aid for grain equipment is glaring omission

Analysis of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities was carried out for the government to determine what farming sectors needed grant aid for modernisation, as part of the rural development submission to the EU.

Following the SWOT analysis and the development programme consultation process, grant aid was proposed to the EU Commission for capital investment by young farmers and organic farmers, and for dairy equipment, low emission slurry spreading machinery, animal welfare, safety, nutrient storage and pig and poultry farms.

As a result, grants are being made available for a wide range of equipment under these headings, including animal housing, roofing of yards, automatic slurry scrapers, manure pits, concrete tanks, slurry stores, isolation boxes, calving pens, bull pens, cattle crushes and enclosures, cattle and sheep handling equipment, cattle weighing scales, slurry safety equipment, farmyard safety equipment, a wide range of dairy structures, slurry tankers, solar panels for pig and poultry buildings, etc.