The Expression of Interest (EOI) window for Small Grants -Environment is 09 January to 17 February 2023 (extended to 03 March 2023).

This round of Small Grants -Environment will address the theme of Hedgerow creation, and is a standalone scheme providing a maximum of £7,500 funding per business for Capital Works Projects.

The Hedgerow creation option is eligible in the following locations:

• Along existing field boundaries where no hedgerow had previously been located.
• Within fields, to establish new boundaries.
• On hedge banks (earth banked and stone-faced earth banks) where no woody hedge plant remnants exist along the entire length to be planted.
• On existing hedge banks where some woody hedge plant remnants exist. (There would be substantial gaps between these remnants, and they would not be subject to mechanical trimming)
• On existing hedge banks where there are some existing mature trees that are retained. (Not a continuous row of trees)
• To plant gaps within existing hedgerows which are 20m or longer.

This option is not eligible where:

• There are continuous woody hedge plants along the whole length of the proposed planting area.
• There is a continuous row of existing mature trees.
• Existing remnants of a hedge have been mechanically cut or trimmed to maintain a hedgerow feature.
• To plant gaps within existing hedgerows which are less than 20m.

New fencing will only be paid where it protects a newly planted section of hedgerow.

Capital Works projects must be claimed for and submitted with before and after geo-tagged photos by 31/03/2024.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) window for the Spring Sown Growing for the Environment is now open and will close on 18^th November 2022. The minimum grant award is equivalent to the payment rate for 1ha of eligible crop,and the maximum grant is £5,000. EOI’s must be submitted via your RPW account – for more detailed information, please refer to the Rules Booklet (link below), in particular pages 21 and 39-56 (Annex B).

Growing for Environment Rules Booklet

There are options within the Scheme to grow the following crops:-

Mixed leys – Payment Rate £276/ha
Establish a mixed ley, comprising minimum 5 grass species, 3 legume species and 3 herb species.
(Species not individual varieties within species)
Minimum seed rate 25 kg / ha.

Red clover or Lucerne – Payment £229/ha
Establish a Red clover or Lucerne ley.
Mixtures of red clover cultivars are permitted.
Red clover can be sown as a monoculture or in combination with ryegrass.

Protein crops – Payment £234/ha
Establish and harvest a protein crop with no weed control.
Eligible crops: Field beans, peas, lupins.

Unsprayed root or forage crop – Payment £118/ha
Establish an unsprayed root or forage crop.
Eligible crops: Swedes, Fodder beets, White turnips, Soft yellow turnips, Hardy yellow turnips, Brassicas, Forage rape, Chicory.

Unsprayed spring sown cereals – Payment £162/ha
Establish an unsprayed, spring-sown cereal crop.
Eligible crops: Barley, Wheat, Oats, Triticale, Rye.

Unsprayed spring cereals under sown with mixed ley – Payment £297/ha
Establish an unsprayed, spring-sown cereal crop,under sown with a mixed ley seed mixture.
Eligible crops: Barley, Wheat, Oats, Triticale, Rye.
Under sown mixed ley, comprising maximum 5 grass and a minimum of 3 legume and 3 herb species.

Unsprayed cereal and protein crop mix – Payment £173/ha
Establish an unsprayed, spring-sown cereal / protein crop mix.
Eligible crops: Barley, Wheat, Oats, Triticale, Rye / Field beans, peas, lupins, vetches.
Seed mixture to comprise 50% cereal and 50% protein seed by weight.

Unsprayed cereal and protein crop under sown with mixed ley –  Payment £302/ha
Establish an unsprayed, spring-sown cereal / protein crop mix.
Eligible crops: Barley, Wheat, Oats, Triticale, Rye /Field beans, peas, lupins,
Seed mixture to comprise of 50% cereal and 50% protein crop by weight.
Under sown mixed ley, comprising maximum 5 grass and a minimum of 3 legume and 3 herb species.

Under sowing maize (Spring /summer sown) – Payment £85/ha
Establish a cover crop within a growing maize crop.
Seed mixture to include a minimum of 2 crop species which are suitable for growing within the shade of a maize crop.

If you would like further assistance with your application, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516 or by email on ofice@carawales.co.uk

The Expression of Interest (EOI) window for Small Grants -Efficiency is 18 May to 29 June 2022.

This  is a capital scheme designed to help farmers in Wales to improve the technical, financial and environmental performance of their farm businesses.

The maximum grant award is £12,000 and the minimum is £1,000.

Previous participation in the Farm Business Grant will not affect your ability to apply for the maximum £12,000 grant.

The grant provides a maximum 40% contribution towards capital investments in equipment and machinery (excluding VAT), which can be demonstrated as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to farm businesses.

The grant will be a maximum 40% contribution against actual invoiced costs up to the maximum referenced costs as stated within the list of eligible capital items.

To view the Rules Booklet, please click below:-

https://gov.wales/small-grants-efficiency-general-rules-booklet-html

and for a detailed list of eligible capital items, please click here

The Small Grants – Efficiency scheme is only available to claim using the Grants Claim page on your RPW Online account. If you require further assistance with your application, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516 or email office@carawales.co.uk

Please follow the link below for opening & closing dates for rural schemes April to October 2022. Further details to follow on our website near to the opening dates of each.

https://gov.wales/rural-schemes-application-dates

Expressions of Interest for the  Farm Business Grant (FBG)  opens today 1 September 2021 and will close at midnight on 1 October 2021. It will provide farmers in Wales with a 40% contribution towards capital investments in equipment and machinery that have been pre-identified as offering clear and quantifiable benefits to farm enterprises. The minimum grant available is £3,000 and the maximum is £12,000.

If you have applied and were successful in other rounds of FBG, please note that the grant allocated to you previously will be taken into account in determining the maximum grant available of £12,000.

Applications are to be made via your Rural Payments Wales on-line account. Follow the link below for a full list of eligible items linked to animal health, genetics and performance; crop management; energy efficiency; resource efficiency and ICT.

https://carawales.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0833b6be8b5dd4416d26ce562&id=279e3d636a&e=018fb5a39e

Please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516 or office@carawales.co.uk if you require assistance with your application.

The FBG Yard Coverings Scheme is being offered to help pay for yard coverings and improved drainage systems for buildings. The second Expression of Interest (EOI) window  opened on 18 May 2021 and will run until 25 June 2021.

Detailed guidance on this Scheme can be accessed by following the links below:-

General Rules Booklet & List of Eligible items

How to use Rural Payments Wales (RPW) to apply

Geotagged photo guidance

If you are interested in the Scheme or wish to clarify anything, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516 or email office@carawales.co.uk

• Same principles as old FBG. Standard cost for items. £3000 minimum grant (£7,500 spend) and £12,000 maximum grant (£30,000 spend) but starting from a clean slate now. As previously, producers must have a turnover of less than £1m.
• Standard cost of £90/m2 (£8.36/ft2) of roof covering @ 40% grant – so grant of £36/m2 (in theory min roofing area 83m2 and max roofing area 333m2)
• There will be 5 types of roof areas with different scores – covering livestock feeding areas, covering manure stores, covering silage stores, covering slurry stores and covering gathering areas.
• Scores for each item are then multiplied by the water quality and water quantity area you are in -as determined by Welsh Government.
• There are additional items available such as guttering & downpipes, sleeping policemen, slurry analysis kit, but these will not effect the score at all. They could however be used to get you to the minimum spend.
• You will need to submit 4 geo-tagged BEFORE photos of the area to be roofed with the EOI
• Farmers will have 12 months from date of issue of Contract to complete the works and submit a claim.
• It must be new roofing – not second hand. You can build it yourself, but if you do, an engineer’s certificate must be provided.
• At the Claim stage, you will be required to submit confirmation re. planning permission and SUDS (deals with surface water on developments over 100sqm), letter from Accountant re £1m turnover, invoices for shed / materials and geo-tagged AFTER photos

The AFTER geo-tagged photos will also need to show that the clean water from the new roof is diverted to a clean water drain, and that the slurry from the yard area is directed to the slurry pit.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) for the 9th window (Landscape & Pollinators theme) opened on  18th May 2021 and will close at midnight on 25th June 2021. As in previous windows, an existing Glastir contract is NOT NECESSARY  to be eligible.

Glastir Small Grants is a standalone scheme providing a maximum of £7,500 funding per theme for capital works to carry out projects to help improve water quality and reduce the risk of flooding. Successful applicants will need to complete the capital works and submit their final claim by 21 March 2022.

Further details, including scheme rules are available by following the links below:-

Guidance Booklet

If you require further assistance with your application via your RPW on-line account, please contact us here at CARA on 01570 471516.

It was announced on January 27^th 2021 (see Press Release) that Wales will now implement new Agricultural Pollution Regulations to ALL holdings in Wales. Some of the regulations become law by 1^st January 2023, with others from 1^st August 2024. The regulations (see full details) are a mirror image of the NVZ regulations that already apply to certain areas of Wales.

This is a huge administrative burden for all livestock farms, but is something that we at CARA are qualified to assist with. We have access to software packages to aid with records, and we have FACTS qualified staff to advise on specific crop requirements.

Please follow the links below for summaries of the main points from the Regulations published 27/01/2021.

NVZ Wales Jan 2021

Control of Agricultural Pollution Regs

Also, the Guidance for Farmers and Land Managers of the new Regulations wef 01/04/2021

NVZ Guidance for Farmers and Land Managers

RABI have recently launched a wellbeing research survey of the farming sector, and hope to gather 26,000 responses that will give them an insight into the impacts and pressures you and your farms face and how they impact daily life. Farmers, farm workers, their spouses and adult-aged children can all take part.

The survey is open until 31 March 2021. To complete the questionnaire, please click on the following link:-

Big Farming Survey