Farmers in England will soon be able to apply for grants of up to £250,000 to improve their slurry storage, helping them to prevent water and air pollution and make the best of their organic nutrients.
Accodring to the government, around half of slurry stores in England are not fit-for-purpose.
This means many farms can end up failing to comply with their legal obligations for storage and spreading of slurry.
The first round of the Slurry Infrastructure grant, which will be administered by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and opens for applications on Tuesday December 6, will make £13 million available for livestock farmers to build six months of slurry storage capacity.
Farmers are able to apply for grants of £25,000 to £250,000 towards the cost of slurry stores, covers and supporting equipment.
Grants can be used to build, replace or expand storage. They can also contribute towards a range of solutions like lagoons, steel and concrete ring tanks and large slurry bags.
Farming Minister Mark Spencer said:
“We know livestock farmers want to invest in slurry systems that support quality food production and protect the environment, but many are put off by high infrastructure costs and difficulty accessing finance.
“The Slurry Infrastructure grant will tackle this, helping farmers to invest in future-proof slurry storage that supports thriving farms while cutting pollution and allowing nature to prosper.”
Spencer added that enlarging and covering slurry stores will help reduce the 60% of nitrate pollution, 25% of phosphate pollution and 87% of ammonia emissions that come from agriculture.
“It will also help farmers to cut costs on artificial fertilisers, delivering long-term productivity benefits through improved nutrient management and soil health. ”
