£20 million farm infrastructure support confirmed

The package of measures is part of the commitment under Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru, to work with the farming community in the deployment of the regulations to improve water and air quality.

£20m has been committed for two schemes to support farmers reach compliance with The Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021. The Nutrient Management Investment Scheme and the Small Grants – Yard Coverings scheme, will open shortly.

Both schemes are designed to enable farmers to address nutrient management and storage by providing support for additional slurry storage capacity and/or prevent rainwater entering slurry stores to reduce storage capacity requirement.

The support has been increased to provide a maximum 50% contribution towards certain project costs.  Detailed guidance will be available shortly with both schemes open by the summer.

The Rural Affairs Secretary, said: “In response to the prolonged period of wet weather, I recently chaired an ‘Extreme Weather Summit’ with key agricultural partners to discuss its impact on farmers and growers.  The impact that the wet weather has had shows the importance of investing in resilience and during the Summit I heard of significant issues in relation to slurry storage capacity.

“Whilst the weather has slightly improved recently, the delayed access to work the land and increasing costs incurred during the extended winter months will have short, medium and long-term impacts.

“I’m pleased to announce these schemes, which will help farmers build resilience to extreme weather conditions. The funding will also support farmers to reach compliance with our Agricultural Pollution Regulations which will help improve water quality in our rivers and their tributaries.

“I would encourage applicants to consider potential investments prior to application windows opening and where appropriate, engage with local planning authorities. Planning and SuDS applications should be submitted as soon as possible; doing this work in advance of an application window does not affect your eligibility to apply.”

“In the short term, I am acutely aware of the human impact on farming families and I am clear we need to face this issue with communication and a pragmatic approach.  The mental health of those involved in the agricultural industry is of great concern to me and I strongly encourage anyone suffering with stress or other mental health issues to ask for help.

“Welsh Government will also play its part; if farmers have any difficulties meeting the requirements of their contracts, as a result of this prolonged wet weather period, they should contact Rural Payments Wales as soon as possible to discuss their options or to request a derogation. All requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

“Our future generations will be farming in much more challenging conditions. We must act today to adapt and mitigate for this - taking steps to build resilience to the potential impacts of climate change.”

Further details on the schemes will be available here: https://www.gov.wales/rural-grants-payments