NOW OPEN: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2023
Grants are now available for a variety of equipment and technology for farming, horticulture and forestry businesses in England.
Eligible applicants include farmers, horticulturalists, forestry owners and contractors. You will need a Single Business Identifier (SBI) number to proceed with an application along with your Customer Registration Number (CRN), email address, business name and business address.
This latest round of FETF funding is focused on two main themes:
Productivity and Slurry; and
Animal Health and Welfare
The Productivity and Slurry portal is now open through to midday on 4 April. The Animal Health and Welfare is likely to open in mid March.
Applications can be made through an online portal and grants are available for each claimant based on their SBI number. The minimum grant level has been reduced to £1,000 with a maximum of £25,000 per theme with 87 new items available through both themes.
What items can I claim for?
Productivity and Slurry theme
Eligible items for the Productivity and Slurry theme are shown here in Appendix 3 of the latest guidance.
There is a wide array of items under this theme to choose from for Horticulture, Forestry, Slurry Management, Arable, Livestock, Resource Management and general items such as assisted steering systems for tractors and cover crop rollers.
Animal Health and Welfare theme
Eligible items for the Animal Health and Welfare theme (expected to open this month) are shown here in Appendix 4 of the guidance
The items covered under this theme are centered around beed, dairy, sheep, pigs, laying hens and broiler enterprises. Other livestock enterprises are currently excluded from this scheme currently.
How have the grant amounts been calculated?
All items have been prescribed both a set rate for the full value of the item and the grant funded element you will receive. The item(s) you select under each theme must meet the minimum specification outlined in the guidance. Currently the grant will only support claims for new machinery excluding ex-demo, second hand and ‘try before you buy’ items. Further, you cannot use part exchange of goods as evidence of payment. Payment for your selected items must be made in full for the value of the goods shown on the sales invoice.
This is just a brief summary of the scheme – please feel free to contact us to understand the scheme requirements in more detail.
Scoring
It is important to note that the grant is competitive and the fund will seek to reward those with the highest score first. Applications will not be reviewed until the window has closed for the relevant theme and we understand that decisions are anticipated to be made within 4 weeks of that date.
The previous window had a total fund of £17 million and was so oversubscribed that the 2023 FETF has been awarded a pot of £45 million. When you review the items in the relevant Annex you will see on the far right hand side of the description an item score. If you apply for multiple items your final score will be the average based on the sum of the scores for each item selected.
The good news is that you can still apply even if you have received grant funding under Round 1 of FETF.
There is more to come!
Later this year we are expecting further announcements under the Farming Investment Fund for water storage (reservoirs) and improving irrigation, automation and robotics, and funding for cattle housing through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Watch this space for more news!