Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue announced today (Wednesday, August 21) the opening of a dedicated Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme and eligibility changes for the low emission slurry spreading (LESS) scheme.
The nutrient storage scheme, under Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS 3), will provide a 70% grant rate for additional storage facilities for managing the importation of organic fertilisers.
The scheme will have its own dedicated investment ceiling of €90,000 per holding solely for nutrient importation storage.
For partnership applications, an investment ceiling of €160,000 per holding will apply.
Investment items will be limited to circular slurry stores, geo membrane lined stores and manure pits to ensure the facility will continue to be available for slurry importation.
Eligible applicants must have a contract in place to import nutrients, which should outline the volume of organic fertilisers to be imported.
Copies of the terms and conditions of the Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme, together with the application form, are available on the department’s website.
Completed application forms should be submitted to On Farm Investment, Department of Agriculture Food and Marine, Johnstown Castle, Wexford or by email.
LESS eligibility
The minister is also amending terms and conditions of the LESS scheme to allow access for all farmers, who are farming at a stocking rate of less than 170Kg N/ha.
This will allow all applications received from January 1, 2024 to become eligible for LESS investments.
Minister McConalogue is also introducing changes to the rules surrounding the permanent fencing of watercourses, which will also allow this investment to be available for all farmers.
In the case of watercourse fencing, the nitrate regulations only require watercourses to be fenced while stock are present.
Minister McConalogue said that between these changes and the new nutrient importation scheme, that investments will continue to be targeted “to deliver key modernisation, environmental and safety improvements” on thousands of farms across the country.