Changes have been made that make the scheme significantly more accessible to farmers than the first round (Photo: Defra)
New changes have been announced for the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant scheme, which will open for applications in November.
Five changes have been made that make the scheme significantly more accessible to farmers than the first round.
Defra's grant scheme offers grants of between ÂŁ25,000 and ÂŁ250,000 for farmers in England to improve slurry storage.
The grant takes slurry storage arrangements beyond legal minimums, with the aim of improving the use of organic nutrients on farm to aid productivity and reduce pollution.
The most significant change is that pig farms will now be funded for up to eight months storage, compared with six months in the first round.
Beef and dairy farmers will still be offered funding to achieve six months slurry storage.
Pig producers who applied for six months of storage in round 1 will be able to increase to eight months.
Defra said this will help producers with less land to safely store organic nutrients until they can safely spread it or export it to neighbouring farms to meet crop and soil needs.
And another change to the grant means funding will be available towards a slurry separator as part of projects to increase storage capacity.
The grant will provide a contribution towards a screw or screen press separator unit, gantry, and temporary storage of stackable materials.
Defra said separators can make slurry easier to store, move around the farm and apply in line with a nutrient management plan.
Support will also be available for covering for existing stores that are fit-for-purpose with impermeable covers.
This option can be used alongside building a store, or on its own, as long as farmers meet scheme storage requirements and minimum grant thresholds.
Defra said this will help farms who have recently invested in storage to further increase capacity by preventing rainwater from entering the store.
Defra has added the option of in-situ cast concrete stores as an alternative to circular and panel stores, lagoons and bags, with the aim of improving flexibility in certain areas where it is harder to transport in pre-cast panels.
An option for landlords to underwrite grant funding agreements has been added to give tenants more confidence to apply, where their landlord agrees to take over their agreement if they don’t complete the project.
Defra said it was making these changes to improve flexibility and environmental outcomes, adding that it appreciated that some farms may want to amend their round 1 application to take advantage of the revised offer.
The National Pig Association (NPA) welcomed the changes, as the grants provided useful funding for pig producers to help improve slurry storage.
NPA chief executive, Lizzie Wilson said: "We are really pleased the storage has been increased to eight months as this brings many more pig farmers into play.
“We were involved in the development of the scheme and, while we didn’t get everything we wanted – for example, we pushed hard for more storage capacity and permeable as well as impermeable covers – this is a real improvement for pig farmers on round 1.
“We urge members to look at the guidance and consider applying if you think it could help your business."