Applications for tranche 10 of the the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) will open today (Wednesday, September 10), and close on December 5.

Many farmers will be looking to avail of the financial support in the coming months to carry out necessary investments on their farms.

Many of these farmers will be turning to their advisers to fill out and submit their applications for them.

However, many of the applications are a simple job that farmer can do themselves.

Typically, applications for the majority of items that do not require planning permission can be done in a matter of minutes.

To apply, farmers can log into their AgFood account using their name, password and personal access code(PAC), and scroll down to the TAMS III section, where tranche 10 should be open.

There are several tabs an applicant will have to fill out, including: the declarations tab; young farmer details if applicable; education details; application details; production units if applicable; proposed investments; nutrient production; nutrient storage facilities; alternative contact; and documents.

At the bottom of each page there will be three options:

'Save Draft Application', which saves all data input;
'Validate Application', which saves all data input and applies checks and rules to ensure that all required questions are completed;
'Submit Application', which saves, validates and submits the application as complete.

However once an application has been submitted, an applicant can no longer make amendments to it, so take care to only submit an application when you are certain it is finalised.

Before starting an application, double-check your personal details, such as your name, address and phone number, ensuring they are all accurate to avoid discrepancy with receipts, which could lead to payment issues.

An application will start with a declaration, where you will be required to read and accept the terms and conditions.

This is a 'tick the box' exercise with approximately 14 questions regarding the terms and conditions.

Once this is done, you will be brought to the 'Young Farmer' tab, where if applicable, the date of birth and name of the young farmer automatically appear.

However, you will have to provide the date the partnership was acquired. If an you are an eligible applicant, the status of 'Eligible Young Farmer' should change to 'yes' after saving the application.

You will then be taken to the 'Education' tab, where you will be required to input details from the drop-down educational category list.

Once completed, a second drop-down menu will appear, where you will be required to select your relevant course attended and your status in regards to the course.

If you have completed your education, you will be required to upload your certificate in this section.

The next step is to fill out the 'Application Details'.

This includes inputting details on the type of enterprise you are farming; whether or not you have livestock on holding; whether it is an intensive enterprise; and you will also be required to input the full address of the location for the grant.

Once completed, you will be taken to the 'Production Units' tab, however this only applies when you have an intensive pig/chicken enterprise.

Ensure to save draft your draft application at each tab.

The next step is the 'Proposed Investments' tab. Farmers are strongly advised to be familiar with the TAMS III supporting documents and reference costs before completing this section.

Under the supporting documents, DAFM have provided a breakdown of investments, highlighting the main structure and substructures involved.

Based on these, applicants are required to provide different sets of data for each structure, with the department warning that items required but not applied for will not be grant aided.

For example, when building a shed, the main structure, along with the substructure (slats, feed passage, crush, ancillary concrete, etc.) and the underground tank must all be applied for separately - it does not all fall under simply 'shed'.

You can select your proposed investments from the drop down menu, with the following icons appearing beside substructures:

Sub-investments will also appear on a drop-down menu. However, only one can be added at a time, despite the fact that the same sub-investment can be added multiple times if required.

You will need to enter the quantity/dimensions/volume for sub-investment as required (the range display will indicate input required).

You will also be required to upload all supporting documents to the tab, which will automatically be associated to the correct investment.

Most farmers applying themselves will be doing so for simple objects such as GPS or livestock collars, which will allow them to skip over the 'Nutrient Production' and 'Nutrient Storage Facilities' tabs.

However, for farmers wishing to carry out applications related to nutrients, they can find details on how to navigate these tabs on gov.ie under TAMS III.

Once everything is selected, you can move on to 'Validate Application'. If any of the form has been filled out incorrectly or any boxes remain unticked, a red validation message will pop up.

If not, or once corrected if so, you can submit your application.

When doing an application, take your time, making sure all details are correct and all supporting documents are uploaded correctly before submitting it.