The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has published its updated reference costs for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).

The new reference costs will be available for all eligible applications submitted under Tranche 10 of the scheme from Wednesday (September 10), and will close on December 5.

In the list, DAFM have provided a tool to calculate reference costs for silage effluent tanks; square or rectangular tanks; L-shaped tanks; T-shaped tanks; U-shaped tanks; H-shaped tanks; double H-shaped tanks; plus-sign-shaped tanks; and doughnut-shaped tanks.

The tool allows farmers enter their specific details to get a reference quote to suit their desired size of tank.

Farmers will be required to fill in information, such as:

Length and width of tank walls;
Internal tank depth.

They will also be required to specify if spine (dividing) walls are present, whether they are 300mm or 500mm thick, and their lengths.

The total gap length for beams at end of spine walls should also be specified, along with the number of openings spanned by beams at the end of spine walls, and the total spine length at end of spine walls.

If part of the the tank is in an existing building, farmers should specify the percentage of the tank contained within. Similarly, if part of the tank is above ground level, this percentage should be specified.

For L, T, U, H, Double H, plus, and doughnut tanks, farmers will also be required to provide information on whether there is a beam to carry slats at each relevant gap.

Tanks will be costed on a component basis, including each linear metre of external wall; each linear metre of any spine wall; the floor area of the tank; the excavated volume of soil; and the volume of backfill.

The reference cost will be based on the inputted figures.

The cost covers the full construction of the store, excluding the safety fence. Enter the liquid storage capacity of the store, in metres cubed, into the investment tab on the on-line system

Pre-cast concrete tanks follow the equation y = 0.2439x + 4445, where x = volume of the tank in litres and y = the cost of the tank.

For example, if the proposed tank is of mass concrete and 20,000L capacity, a farmer must add that to the equation.

(0.2439(20,000) + 4445) = €9,323

This €9,323 includes the cost of the cover over the tank.

Circular slurry tanks follow the same system. However, they use the equation y = 32.69x + 29073 (where x is m³) for volume and y = 109.16x + 13281 (where x is m²) for store cover.

In the new list of reference costs, DAFM have priced concrete at €36.27/m².

The reference cost outlined that new cattle slats for new tanks in existing animal areas will be priced at €68.29/m², while existing cattle slats will be deducted from building cost at a rate of €75.12/m².

New slatted and cubicle areas over a tank are referenced at €292.06/m², with only a slatted area for cattle coming in at €277.72/m² and new slats in an existing area priced at €68.29/m².

New external manhole covers for a new tank in existing animal area are priced at €447.70 per item alongside safety agitation platforms at €2,429.61 per item.

DAFM reported that protective fencing for slurry stores (including gate) will be set at €72.66/linear metre.

The department also confirmed that there are no additional allowances for difficult excavations, whether it be caused by rock, a high water table, or soft ground.