£31 million for farmers and foresters announced at Royal Cornwall Show

Millions of pounds have been made available for new equipment and technology to boost sustainable food production, including right here in Cornwall.

The funding of £31 million - announced at the Royal Cornwall Show - will go towards increasing environmental sustainability by reducing emissions and cutting waste in the latest round of cash from the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF).

It's after Cornwall Council recently pledged their support for Cornish farmers - by using local produce at their events, with the money going towards equipment and technology for farmers to use - which will help them to reduce emissions and cut waste.

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund is all about providing funding to farming businesses so they can invest in the tools they need to improve sustainable production across agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

Productivity and Slurry grants will specifically support the procurement of equipment and technology that will help farmers use fewer inputs, reduce emissions and cut waste.

Secretary of State for Food and Farming Thérèse Coffey said: “The tremendous interest shown in the FETF 2023 Productivity and Slurry underscores the determination of our farmers to drive ever more productive and sustainable farming practices to keep food on our plates whilst protecting our important landscapes and habitats.

“By empowering farms to invest cash in new kit, we are ensuring our farmers, growers and foresters have the equipment they need to embrace innovation, protect the environment, and contribute to a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector.”

The FETF 2023 is made up of two themes: Animal Health and Welfare, and Productivity and Slurry.

What the FETF will go towards

• Direct drill with fertiliser placement for precision drilling of arable and cover crops to help reduce crop establishment costs and increase efficiency of fertiliser usage. 250 applicants to be offered this grant worth £6.25m
• Robotic drill and guided hoe – an autonomous robotic vehicle which can precisely place seed in the ground and return to mechanically weed – this helps to reduce herbicide usage and associated costs. Ten applications accepted with a value of £250,000
• Rainwater harvesting tanks with a minimum capacity of 5,000 litres which will help to reduce water scarcity for farmers in the summer months. This equipment will now benefit 86 recipients with a value of £110,802
• Tree shears with the capacity to fell 300mm diameter trees to stop the spread of pests and diseases across our woodlands. This funding helped 113 recipients with a total value of £363,747
• Dribble bars with a minimum working width of 6m designed to apply slurry to the soil surface as accurately as possible to minimise grass contamination and ammonia emissions. This equipment was made accessible to 94 farmers, amounting to a value of £403,200
• Direct drills with a width of 3m to conserve moisture and reduces soil erosion. This initiative assisted 129 applicants, totalling £1.555m in value

£2.4 billion every year for farmers

Cash from the latest round of the FETF is part of the Government's manifesto commitment of investing £2.4bn every year for the rest of the current term of this Parliament in farming.

In 2023, stats from the Government show £168 million is being made available to increase farming productivity through 16 different grants and competitions themed around productivity, research and innovation.

More rounds of FETF funding are set to happen in the future, but in the meantime, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs say their larger grants offering will support further investment in water storage and improving irrigation slurry infrastructure, as well as funding for automation and robotics.

This announcement follows the Farm to Fork Summit at Downing Street last month where the government announced a package of support for the farming sector, including new measures to ensure the sector remains at the forefront of adopting new technologies and techniques.

Applicants can still apply to the Animal Health and Welfare strand of FETF 2023 until the 15 June 2023.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.