Farmers can now apply for funds to invest in the latest technology and equipment as part of a new scheme launched by the Government. Stuart Anderson, South Shropshire’s Conservatives Parliamentary Candidate, is calling on farmers to apply for the funding to invest in items that boost productivity, increase environmental sustainability, and help slurry management. £70 million is being invested through the new Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024 to support farmers with the costs of eligible items to build resilience and boost food security.
The Fund helps farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) invest in equipment, technology, and infrastructure that help their business prosper, while improving productivity and enhancing the environment - including eligible drills, fertiliser applicators, and grain dryers. More than £120 million worth of funding has been paid out through 11,000 grants.
New for 2024, the Fund is split into three separate grants: productivity, slurry, and animal health and welfare equipment. Farmers can apply for more than one grant for items that suit their business. They can apply for up to £50,000 towards productivity and slurry items and up to £25,000 towards animal health and welfare items. The Fund opened for applications on 6th March for productivity and slurry items and will close midday on 17 April 2024. The window for applying for animal health and welfare items will be announced shortly. Two more application windows are expected in 2024.
FETF is part of the Farming Investment Fund, providing smaller grants to improve business performance. Farmers can also apply for the Farming Transformation Fund for larger or more complicated investments, such as water resource management, adding value to agri-food and improving farm productivity. It is all part of the Government’s manifesto commitment to invest £2.4 billion per year in farming for the rest of this Parliament.
In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that the farming sector will this year benefit from the largest-ever round of grants on offer to support investment in agricultural productivity and innovation, with £427 million of government funding crowding in additional private sector investment. The Chancellor also announced an extension to Agricultural Property Relief from Inheritance Tax to include all environmental land management (ELM) schemes. This will cover the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship (and other stewardship schemes) and Landscape Recovery, as well as the England Woodland Creation Offer and other similar schemes.
The relief will be available where there is an agreement in place on or after 6 March 2024 and benefits all British farmers. This will help to incentivise more longer-term tenancy opportunities where landlords and tenants collaborate to share the benefits of longer term environmental schemes. It removes the risk that tenants’ participation would change whether the land is eligible for relief, implementing commitments in the Government’s response to the Rock Review.
Stuart Anderson said:“The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund is a huge opportunity for farmers and landowners across Shropshire, with £70 million available to invest in tools that will drive productivity and innovation, unleashing rural prosperity. Applications are open until 17th April for productivity and slurry items that help farmers use fewer inputs, reduce emissions, and cut waste. I also welcome the extension of Agricultural Property Relief to all environmental land management schemes. This will be a further boost for farmers.”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “We’ve made our commitment to farmers and landowners taking part of our environmental land management schemes clear – we will support you, invest in you and reward your action in supporting our ambitious targets for the environment and climate. Now we are going further, as announced in the 2024 Budget, land used as part of our environmental land management schemes will now be in scope for Agricultural Property Relief, meaning this land is eligible to be passed on free of Inheritance Tax. It pays to be part of our environmental land management schemes and we will continue to support our farmers and landowners to improve and conserve the natural environment alongside food production. I would also encourage farmers to take another look at some of the longer-term investment decisions such as tree planting in light of this announcement.”
