Welsh government unveils £20m funding for slurry management

The Welsh government has unveiled a multimillion-pound funding package to help farmers improve slurry storage infrastructure on farms to comply with air and water regulations.

In total, £20m has been committed for two schemes to support farmers reach compliance with the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021. 

They are the Nutrient Management Investment Scheme and the Small Grants – Yard Coverings scheme, which will open shortly.

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Both schemes aim to enable farmers in Wales to address nutrient management and storage by providing support for additional slurry storage capacity and/or prevent rainwater entering slurry stores to reduce storage capacity requirement.

The funding will also support farmers to reach compliance with Welsh government agricultural pollution regulations, which will help improve water quality in rivers and their tributaries.

The Welsh government says the support has been increased to provide a maximum 50% contribution towards certain project costs. Detailed guidance will be available shortly, with both schemes open by the summer.

Wales’ rural affairs secretary, Huw Irranca-Davies, recently hosted an extreme weather summit where he heard from farm leaders about the effects of eight months of prolonged wet weather on farms in Wales.

Many farms have struggled to find suitable windows to spread slurry during this period, and slurry stores have been filled as a consequence.

Mr Irranca-Davies said the effect of the wet weather had shown the importance of investing in slurry storage capacity to build resilience on farms to extreme weather conditions.

“I would encourage applicants to consider potential investments prior to application windows opening and where appropriate, engage with local planning authorities,” he added.

“Planning and SuDS [Sustainable Drainage Systems] applications should be submitted as soon as possible; doing this work in advance of an application window does not affect your eligibility to apply.”

Farmers who have any difficulties meeting the requirements of their contracts as a result of this prolonged wet weather period should contact Rural Payments Wales as soon as possible to discuss their options or to request a derogation. All requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Farmers’ Union of Wales president Ian Rickman said: “Despite concerns we’ve raised previously in terms of this promised funding as a proportion of the estimated overall costs to the industry of over £360m, this long-awaited support will be welcomed by many in light of the recent wet weather.”

Further details on the schemes will be available here.