The Irish farming community has received a significant boost with the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) opening, which provides funding for farm capital investments. The Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, and Ministers of State, Senator Pippa Hackett and Martin Heydon, has announced the scheme’s opening, with a budget of €370 million and will run for five years.
Irish Farming can invest in new improvements under TAMS 3, including increased grant aid rates, investment ceilings, new investments, and new support categories. The first tranche of the scheme will open on 22 February, starting with solar panels on farms, with other investments becoming available on a phased basis during Tranche 1, which will close on 16 June.
One of the fundamental changes under TAMS 3 is resetting the investment ceiling to €90,000 per holding for the duration of the scheme, providing farmers with more opportunities to invest in their businesses. In addition, the pig and poultry strand of support will also have a new ceiling of €500,000, while the solar scheme will have its investment ceiling of €90,000 and will be grant-aided at an enhanced rate of 60%.
The Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment, Organic Capital Investments, and Farm Safety Investments will have an enhanced grant rate of 60%, compared to the previous rate of 40% in TAMS II, encouraging farmers to reduce their carbon footprint and invest in better farm safety equipment.
TAMS 3 includes ten schemes, which will open for receipt of applications on a phased basis by the scheme. The selection process after the closing date will ensure that the funds are allocated to investments that significantly impact farm productivity and efficiency. The new investments in cattle underpasses, farm roadways, bovine fencing, health and fertility monitoring systems, and pasture management machinery, among others, will be highly beneficial for farmers. In addition, the opportunity for equine breeders to invest in infrastructure for their farms and investments to assist the potato sector and handling equipment for other industries will also be beautiful.
Photo by Nils Nedel on Unsplash
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