Farmers have one week left to apply for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) before the closing date of June 30.
This closing date, for Tranche 1 of the scheme, is an extended one. On June 12, The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced an extension to the original closing date of June 16.
All schemes under TAMS have now been opened for applications, the most recent of which, the women farmer capital investment scheme (WFCIS), opened on Wednesday (June 21).
According to the department, the WFCIS provides incentives to women farmers to upgrade their agricultural buildings and equipment with an increased level of support.
The WFCIS aims to promote gender equality, employment, growth, generation renewal and social inclusion by supporting the participation of women in farming, the department said.
Under the scheme, grant aid is paid at the rate of 60% up to a maximum of €90,000/holding.
The department said that multiple applications per tranche are allowed. However, the minimum amount of investment which is eligible for approval under this scheme is €2,000 per application.
Under the WFCIS, applicants who receive approval to proceed with investment works at the maximum ceiling of €90,000 are not eligible to apply for grants under any other TAMS scheme with the exception grants for low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment.
In the case of an application by two or more eligible partners, the maximum increases to €160,000.
The scheme is open to women farmers aged from 18 to 67 at the date of submitting the application form.
They must own or have leasehold title to the site on which it is proposed to carry out the development, and have a minimum of 5ha declared under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or preceding year.
For tillage related investments, applicants must have a minimum of 15ha of eligible crops or in the case of intensive enterprises, generate a minimum of 20 production units from farming.
Applications under the WFCIS for all milking machines are restricted to holdings of no more than 120 dairy cows on average over the calendar year preceding the date of application.
Applications under this scheme for all milking machine investments must have at least 10% additional slurry storage above the legal minimum.