Julian has welcomed the news that farmers and foresters across Skipton and Ripon have been awarded £1,190,078 as part of the Government’s Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.
This was confirmed in a recent letter from the Minister for Food, Farming and Fisheries, the Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, as the budget is doubled to £31 million nationally in response to the huge uptake from farmers.
The fund will help farmers and foresters boost productivity, reduce waste and cut costs, as well as increase environmental sustainability and improve slurry management. Farmers are able to apply for funds to invest in over 90 pieces of equipment that support food security at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2023/how-to-apply-for-a-farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2023-grant
This is the latest announcement as part of the Government’s pledge to invest £2.4 billion per year in farming, with grants worth over £168 million available this year through 16 different funds and competitions. Further details can be found at https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/02/grants-available-in-2023/
It will also only be the first round, with further and larger grants available to encourage investment in water storage, irrigation slurry infrastructure, automation and robotics. This comes on top of the ongoing Environmental Land Management schemes, where funding for over 200 actions is available to farmers.
