Launch of the Farm Health Capital Grant
The Farm Health Capital Grant (FHCG) is a small capital grants scheme, funded under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) 2007-2013. The grant aims to provide investment funding towards making significant improvements to the health and welfare of the stock and to livestock enterprises economic performance. The scope of investment will be determined by the Farm Health Plan which will prioritise the investment appropriate to individual businesses.
The grant funding is managed by Herefordshire Council in partnership with Lantra, the sector Skills Council for the Environmental and Land Based Sector. Funding is targeted at commercial dairy, beef, sheep, pig, goat and poultry producers in the West Midlands whose livestock enterprises provide a minimum of 900 hours of work per year.
Funds are available for applicants for investments in Farm Health Planning within the following areas
• Livestock Handling – Electronic weigh cells, high welfare crushes/squeezes, rollover crates and associated treatment facilities
• Equipment – Items intended to address specific issues: remote monitoring equipment, cluster flushing and pedometers and other heat detection systems. For poultry: small scale investments in environmental enrichment and water softeners to improve gut health
• Improvements to buildings – Small scale works designed to improve the housing of farmed animals: cow mattresses, rubber mats, the grooving of concrete, reconfiguring cubicles, the upgrading of natural ventilation systems. For pigs and poultry: small scale investments in environmental enrichment
• Specialised computer hardware and software – Health planning software: the programmes needed to enhance data analysis, data transmission e.g. carcass conformation and condition, software for improved rationing and recording to improve rumen and give consistency in diets, automatic poultry scales to monitor average live weights, In addition, software design can be supported where it can be justified.
Details on the Farm Health Capital Grant are available on the Advantage West Midlands website.
For more information contact Advantage West Midlands RDPE Manager at RDPEEnquiries@advantagewm.co.uk or call 0121 380 3500.
