Performance Grants Update – February 2011

Monday 28 February 2011

A TOTAL of 82 Livestock Programme Performance Grant applications came in to the NWDA at the end of December 2010 for Round Seven of the grants panel, 66 were from Animal Health Plans, 10 Nutrient Management Plans and six Resource Efficiency Audits.

These comprised of 16 farms in Cheshire, 36 in Cumbria, 29 in Lancashire and 1 in Merseyside - covering 63 dairy enterprises, 18 beef and or sheep farmers and one poultry farmer.

Grants continue to come in for such items as cow cubicles and mattresses (from animal health plans), roofing over manure stores and dirty yards (from nutrient management plans), and heat recovery and energy efficient bulk tanks (resource efficiency audits).

The usual items under Animal Health and Welfare were seen - clusterflush systems, floor improvements like grooving and rubber parlour matting, automatic calf feeders, cubicles and mattresses, EID, and handling facilites for sheep or cattle.

Nutrient Manangement Planning recommendations were mainly covering middens, dirty yards and silage pits

And Resource Efficiency items included heat recovery again, with a rainwater collection and treatment system on a poultry farm in Cumbria being the only item to stand out from the norm.

The total amount of grant offered to these 82 farmers was £447,467 (Round 7).

For further information on Performance Grants and contact details CLICK HERE

Closing Date for Round 8

The closing date for the next round of grant applications (Round 8) is 31st March 2010 (the final round closes on 31st December 2012).