Emergency drought cash moves to Wales after South West rush

RABI’s Emergency Drought Grant is aimed at farms facing financial pressure caused by prolonged dry conditions

Welsh farmers facing drought pressure can apply for £2,000 emergency grants from 14 September, after strong demand brought the first South West phase to a close.

RABI’s second regional application window will cover Wales from 14 to 18 September, although funding is limited and the phase could close early if its allocation is fully committed.

Each regional phase has a maximum allocation of £400,000, and farmers are being encouraged to prepare their applications before the window opens.

The fixed £2,000 grants are intended to help with personal and household living costs where drought has put significant pressure on farm finances.

They are not designed to cover farm business expenses or compensate businesses for the full financial impact of drought.

Applications will open across all Welsh counties, but farmers must still meet the scheme’s eligibility rules.

Applicants must be farm owners or tenant farmers actively running a farming business, and their principal business must be within an area officially designated as being in drought when the phase opens.

They must also be experiencing significant personal or household financial pressure as a result of drought-related impacts on their farming business.

The scheme was introduced as prolonged dry conditions increased pressure across livestock and cropping sectors.

Livestock businesses have faced reduced grazing, earlier use of winter forage, higher feed costs and additional spending on transporting water to animals.

Cropping businesses have also experienced earlier harvests, reduced yields, lower crop quality and restricted access to irrigation.

The farming charity said these pressures can leave farming households with less money available for everyday living costs when personal income is diverted towards essential farm expenditure.

The South West phase has already closed following a “significant number of applications”, with no further submissions being accepted.

Farmers who successfully applied during the first phase and received a Unique Identifying Number do not need to apply again.

RABI aims to contact applicants within four weeks of their submission and, where an application is approved, make payment within four weeks of approval.

Welsh applicants will need to provide evidence that their farming business exists and is operating.

This can include recent farm business accounts dated within the past two years or a farm business bank statement from the previous month. The applicant’s name must appear on the supporting document and match the application.

Only one £2,000 grant can be made in respect of each eligible farm business, including partnerships, family businesses and limited companies.

RABI is warning that “funding is limited” and says application windows may close before their advertised end dates if all available money has been committed.

After Wales, the South East phase is due to run from 21 to 25 September, followed by the East from 28 September to 2 October and the Midlands from 5 to 9 October.

Geographical eligibility will be checked against official Environment Agency drought areas, which do not always align exactly with county boundaries.

RABI said drought classifications will be reviewed before each phase opens so that any newly designated areas can be included.