Welsh 'Small Grants - Efficiency' scheme.

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Are you allowed to buy 2nd hand machines??

No, but a decent secondhand one at £10k would perhaps be a better buy than new, with a grant?


English schemes did not allow the Aitchison Grass Farmer, but did allow the pricier machines in the range....

The GF was not considered to be DD machine!

It’s all in the wording.;) everything on the Welsh schemes is worded slightly differently to that on the English scheme. And yes, a ‘mechanical’ seed metering direct drill is eligible in Wales (whereas it had to be pneumatic in England iirc).
 
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neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Open until 29th June 2022, any idea if their doing more windows and when they are? Few items of interest for sure, shame I’ve bought a pile of qualified stuff over the last 2 years when no grants 🤦🏻‍♂️

There is mention in the guidance notes, or applying for things in further windows if you are unsuccessful, and seemingly nothing to stop you applying in several of the windows, up to a total of £12k of grant aid. Presumably that means there will be further windows…

My initial reaction is that it is more useful than the FBG was, in that you can apply as & when if you like, and for much smaller amounts each time, making it more accessible to those that whinged last time around.
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
There is mention in the guidance notes, or applying for things in further windows if you are unsuccessful, and seemingly nothing to stop you applying in several of the windows, up to a total of £12k of grant aid. Presumably that means there will be further windows…

My initial reaction is that it is more useful than the FBG was, in that you can apply as & when if you like, and for much smaller amounts each time, making it more accessible to those that whinged last time around.
Sounds an improvement, if the minimum grant is £1000is this 40% of total spend?
If so much more realistic for us smaller farm's to spend £2500 and get grant money back. Or have I got it wrong?
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Sounds an improvement, if the minimum grant is £1000is this 40% of total spend?
If so much more realistic for us smaller farm's to spend £2500 and get grant money back. Or have I got it wrong?

That’s how I read it, yes.

Allowing people to have several small bites over several rounds of the grant is an improvement too imo, allowing multiple, smaller investments over time.

All applications are scored (average of the points attached to each item), and smaller applications are chosen if two score the same. I take that as weighting it towards helping smaller farmers making small applications, rather than all the money disappearing into fewer £12k claims.
 
Wouldn't be surprised if some wording is altered on specs and prices. Nor sure where I can find a new micro air seeder for £1300ish . More like a fanjet
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Wouldn't be surprised if some wording is altered on specs and prices. Nor sure where I can find a new micro air seeder for £1300ish . More like a fanjet
An opico Air8 seeder (metal one not plastic) was circa £3k 5 years ago. Same price as the 6m Harrow 😬 I didn’t get the seeder
 
Any idea what brands/ types of minimum tillage cultivator would meet the spec?

@neilo ,you had one iirc on the previous grant,what did you get and would it meet the current scheme spec?
IMG_20180817_143331.jpg
This the zagroda we had. There's a row of tines in front of the crumbler which hadn't been fitted in that pic. Wondering about an air seeder to go on it dropping the seeds in where the tines are
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
What's the points/score by the items for?
Annual amount applicable per farm?
Priority levels or what?
The points system was because they thought with the FBG R1 they thought they’d be inundated with applications so higher costing items had higher numbers alongside them, they also mark every item on welfare/practical gains (4-5 gaining criteria I think) so they originally planned that only higher numbered applicants would qualify. The WG hadn’t realised that farmers didn’t have the money regardless if they were putting up to “40%” grant available the farmers didn’t have the other “60%” so the schemes were very much undersubscribed so everyone I know that applied was accepted except for the person I know who went for an item but their turnover is colossal from non farming so they were declined.
 
The points system was because they thought with the FBG R1 they thought they’d be inundated with applications so higher costing items had higher numbers alongside them, they also mark every item on welfare/practical gains (4-5 gaining criteria I think) so they originally planned that only higher numbered applicants would qualify. The WG hadn’t realised that farmers didn’t have the money regardless if they were putting up to “40%” grant available the farmers didn’t have the other “60%” so the schemes were very much undersubscribed so everyone I know that applied was accepted except for the person I know who went for an item but their turnover is colossal from non farming so they were declined.
Two of my neighbours left it until the last window and didn't get approved because of the points so ended up with nothing
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Two of my neighbours left it until the last window and didn't get approved because of the points so ended up with nothing
The last window also occurred after a very healthy year for most sectors whether it dairy beef or sheep plus it was the last window everyone thought so a fair few would have applied 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
The last window also occurred after a very healthy year for most sectors whether it dairy beef or sheep plus it was the last window everyone thought so a fair few would have applied 🤷🏻‍♂️
I got in on the first window because I'd seen what I thought was a loophole that would get spotted. Turns out it didn't spotted so there's a lot of mintill cultivators sitting round not being used
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Any idea what brands/ types of minimum tillage cultivator would meet the spec?

@neilo ,you had one iirc on the previous grant,what did you get and would it meet the current scheme spec?

I changed my Simtech for a new one on the previous grant, as there was nothing I needed on the list and seemed sensible to bank the grant in a renewal instead.

The spec covers any cultivator with three separate 'soil engaging parts', the last one being a rear roller/packer.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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