The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has today (Wednesday, January 13) confirmed the continuation of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) with Tranche 21 of the scheme to open on Saturday, January 16 and close on April 16, 2021.
The scheme provides grants for on-farm capital investment.
The minister commented: “The current Tranche 20 of the scheme is due to close this Friday and Tranche 21 will open immediately afterwards on Saturday, January 16.
“I have been very clear that continuity is very important and this is part of that commitment. TAMS has been hugely successful to date with over €265 million in grant aid paid out and I would encourage all existing applicants with approvals to submit their payment claims as soon as they are complete.”
Changes to TAMS
There are some amendments to the scheme for the new tranche opening January 16, which have been outlined by the department.
The changes for the next tranche of TAMS are as follows:
- The addition of investments for calf welfare – this means the investments previously available under the Calf Investment Scheme will be included under TAMS now;
- GPS spreaders to be now available for all categories of applicants. Previously these were only available to tillage applicants under the scheme;
- In line with the rules for derogation farmers introduced last year, this cohort of farmers are no longer eligible to apply for support for low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment.
Covid-19 considerations
The department has also announced some flexibilities for existing TAMs approvals in response to Covid-19 issues. These flexibilities are being introduced to make it easier for farmers and their agents to continue to participate in the scheme where difficulties arise from the current public health restrictions.
“It is essential that farming continues at this time while being mindful of the public health measures. I have introduced some flexibilities to the scheme arrangements to reflect the fact that certain practices are not possible at this time and alternative arrangements are required,” the minister said.
The flexibilities included are as follows:
- Flexibility on TAMS completion deadlines – all TAMS projects due for completion (or approvals due to expire) between January 1 and April 1, 2021 may be extended by three months;
- The date for the submission of TAMS payment claims due to be submitted before April 1, 2021 may also be extended by three months.
Approved participants who want to avail of these extensions may contact the local office from which their approval issued, which will provide approval for the required extension.