The second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant (SIG) has been announced by DEFRA and is due to open for applicants in November.
This round prioritises a larger area than the first, meaning more farmers will receive funding for increasing their slurry storage capacities to 6 months or more.
Grants of between £25,000 and £250,000 are available to improve slurry storage to go beyond legal minimums and cant be put towards, replacing, building additional or expanding existing slurry stores. Eligible slurry stores include tanks, lagoons and concrete stores fitted with impermeable cover and large permanent bags. You must fit grand funded stores with an impermeable cover, unless you are installing a slurry bag or you treat your slurry through acidification. The grant will also fund items to help you manage your slurry store, such as reception pits, slurry pumps, agitators and separators.
Changes for Round 2
Since launching the first round, DEFRA have listened to feedback and have implemented the follow changes for Round 2:
1. Pig farmers will now be funded for up to 8 months storage, as opposed to 6.
2. Slurry separators are now included in the grant. The grant will provide a contribution towards a screw or screen press separator unit, gantry and temporary storage of stackable materials.
3. Impermeable coves can now be funded on their own, to go on existing stores that are fit for purpose.
4. The option to build in-situ cast concrete stores as an alternative to circular and panel stores has now been added.
5. The option for landlords to underwrite grant agreements has been introduced, where the landlord agrees to take over the agreement if the tenant does not complete the project. This gives tenants more confidence to apply.
The 3 stage application process
Stage 1 involves ensuring you have a good understanding of your current and future storage slurry requirements, using the AHDB slurry wizard tool to help you do this. You can then complete the online checker to see if you’re eligible and how much grant you might get. If you are happy with the proposal, you can then submit your online checker application. If demand is high, the RPA will prioritise projects that have the greatest environmental outcomes base don location. To see the priority areas, please click here to visit the MAGIC website. From here navigate to the relevant data layer by selecting Land Based Schemes > Other Schemes > Slurry Infrastructure Grant – Round 2 Areas (England).
Stage 2 is the Slurry store location and design assessment stage. If your project is shortlisted at Stage 1, the RPA will then ask you to complete a slurry store location and design assessment form. This will be assess by the Environment Agency (EA) to ensure you meet the grant storage requirements and regulations. The form must be submitted by 30th September 2024.
Stage 3 is the full application. If the EA confirm that the location and design assessment is satisfactory, you will then be asked to submit your full application. This stage goes into further detail of the project itself as well as asking for evidence of planning permissions, qualified engineer confirmations and funding.
If you are interested in applying for the SIG, please contact Rebecca on 07510071772 or rebecca@jaagriculture.co.uk.
