The Farming Investment Fund is now open – a £27 million fund providing grants to farmers, growers, and foresters to invest in the things needed to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment. Among the funding available is the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF), a new type of small productivity grant available to farmers based on the old Countryside Productivity Small Grants (CPSG) scheme.

How is FETF different to the CPSG scheme?

• The FETF is domestically funded while the CPSG scheme was EU funded under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
• The minimum grant value has reduced to £2,000 and the maximum grant value has increased to £25,000. You can apply for a total of £50,000 over the scheme’s duration, for example if there were two rounds you could apply for £25,000 in each round.
• Any funding received under the previous CPSG scheme won’t count towards the £50,000 total.

Full information on what’s changed can be found here.

What equipment is available?
A list of eligible items, with specification and grant amount, can be found here.

How long is there to apply?
The Round 1 application period opened on 16 November 2021 and will close on 7 January 2022. Full information on applying can be found here.

We have a range of livestock handling equipment available that meets requirements, such as Cattle Crushes from Bateman and mobile sheep handling systems from Ritchie and Alligator. Contact us today for advice, information and availability on eligible items. Some of the systems we are able to supply include:

Bateman Ambassador Squeeze Crush
Bateman’s best-selling crush, offering a unique squeeze mechanism unrivalled by any other crush on the market, this crush allows the operator to handle cattle from as small as 50kg, right up to the biggest bulls.

Ritchie Combi Clamp
A revolutionary sheep handling system that makes sheep handling easier, substantially reducing body stress for operator and animal. The hands-free design means there is no struggle in restraining, allowing time to deal with drenching, dagging, vaccinating or tagging all in one operation.

The Combi Clamp is available with a trailer approved for road transport that is ready for use once the trailer is lowered. The trailer can carry the Combi Clamp, three-way shredding gate, auxiliary frame, 12 aluminium hurdles and 20 joining pins.

Alligator Pro 250
A mobile sheep-handling yard for flocks of up to 250 sheep. The Alligator is easy to use and straight forward to set up (can be erected by one person). Includes 24 gates, a 5ft forcing gate with a pen for 8-12 sheep, a 3-way drafting race and a treatment, worming and drenching race. The system can be used to treat, draft, weigh, footbath, shear, crutch and handle.