It is proposed to reset the investment ceiling to €90,000 for dairy equipment and include proposed increased grant rates for specified investments that will form part of the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) in 2023.
Although there is no mention of a dairy equipment scheme like there is in the current TAMS II, in the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027, it has been confirmed that “dairy farmers will continue to be included in TAMS schemes from 2023 onwards”.
This is what the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland, as interest builds around the new On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme (OFCIS) set to be launched in 2023.
The DAFM said that the terms and conditions of the scheme and the investment list for grant-aided items are currently being finalised.
These proposed changes are subject to approval of the Rural Development Plan (RDP) amendment by the European Commission which was formally submitted to the commission on October 25, 2022.
Furthermore, under the OFCIS, livestock underpasses and farm roadways are some of the items under consideration for inclusion on the investment list from 2023 onwards, the department confirmed to Agriland, but nothing has been set in stone.
The OFCIS’ aim will be to provide farmers with the capital needed to invest in precision farming equipment and technologies, which will lead to efficiency gains and will reduce inputs (energy, labour and machinery).