Landowners and farmers looking to make improvements to their holdings could benefit from a new €4billion grant called the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).

Under the programme, an initial £5million in capital grants will be available to UK farmers, foresters and other land managers to invest in equipment and innovative technology. There are two bands of funding available to the most suitable projects. The first provides 40 per cent of the costs of investments in specific types of innovative equipment. These include:

• Equipment to improve animal productivity, health and welfare

• LED lighting systems for livestock housing and wavelength control
• Remote crop sensing
• Slurry management
• Recycling of ammonia and heat emissions
• Small scale forestry processing and wood harvesting and extraction

The second band allows for grants over £35,000 to be provided to projects that improve productivity through specific types of investments. These include:

• Small-scale forestry processing and wood harvesting and extraction
• Controlled atmospheric storage
• Poultry litter drying systems

If you are interested in claiming timing is important: the application window closes in June 2015.

Further information

For advice on managing rural estates, visit Rural Property Services and Consultancy.