The Farming Transformation Fund opened the Water Management Grant for application on the 16th of November 2021.
The Farming Transformation Fund Water Management Grant is open to apply from horticultural and arable businesses that are growing or intend to grow irrigated food crops, ornamentals or forestry nurseries.
The Water Management Grant is part of the Farming Transformation Fund and is responsible for offering grants to arable and horticultural businesses working to improve farm productivity by acquiring capital items.
The capital items need to support more efficient water management and sustainable use of irrigation water, and also towards a sustainable water supply for crop irrigation by the on-farm construction of reservoirs and the use of irrigation application equipment.
The Farming Transformation Fund is part of The Farming Investment Fund
There are 2 parts to the Farming Investment Fund:
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
The Farming Transformation Fund
To apply for grants for smaller investments – The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
For larger investments – The Farming Transformation Fund
The Farming Transformation Fund has funds up to £500,000 for the Water Management Grant
The Water Management Grant part of the Farming Transformation Fund has a maximum grant application of £500,000 and a minimum grant application of £35,000 ensuring there is funding available to help the largest amount of eligible arable farmers and horticultural businesses, whilst still allowing enough funding for the support of higher-value water management projects which meet the objectives of the fund.
Projects for the Farming Transformation Fund under the Water Management grant can be of a larger value than the maximum available funding of 500,000 but any amount above the ceiling value of £500,000 would have to be self-funded or funded from another source.
Farming Transformation Fund Priorities
The Farming Transformation Fund grants will be awarded to support larger or more complex investments. The grant is based on the Countryside Productivity Large Grant scheme which has been focused on specific priorities.
This fund provides grants towards large capital items to help businesses improve productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability. They are:
- Water Management
- Improving Farm Productivity
- Adding Value
Water Management Grant
The Water Management grant is open for applications and will close on 12 January 2022.
Who can apply
You can apply if you:
- Live in England
- Grow crops for the food industry
- Have a nursery growing ornamentals
- Have a forestry nursery
- If you own the land of the project you are applying for or have a lease for at least 5 years
- The project costs will be over £87,500
What the water management grant is for
The Farming Transformation Fund Water Management grant is to improve efficiencies on water use for irrigation and to secure water supplies for crops.
The water management grant can pay up to 40% of the costs for:
- constructing water storage reservoirs
- abstraction points, pumps and pipework to fill a reservoir
- irrigation pumps, controls, underground water distribution systems
- water meters
- best-practice application equipment such as boom or trickle irrigators
- software and sensors to optimise water application
The minimum water management grant you can claim is £35,000 (40% of £87,500). The maximum grant is £500,000.
If you require planning permission or abstraction licences they must be in place by 31 December 2022.
Your application is invalidated if you commit to costs or start the project (such as ordering goods) before your water management Grant funding agreement is secured.
Before you start the water management project, you can:
- get supplier quotes
- apply for planning permission or an abstraction licence (these can take a long time)
How to apply for a water management grant
First, use the grant eligibility checker to find out if your project is viable for a grant
You’ll need:
- Your business information (for example, number of employees, turnover)
- The project information (for example, irrigated land in hectares)
- A list of the items you need to purchase for the project
- An estimate of the total cost of items required for the project
The checker will allocate you a score to demonstrate how well your project fits the priorities of the water management grant funding priorities.
You can tweak the project until you are happy with your score before submitting your details.
To determine whether you are eligible for the Farming Transformation Fund and can apply for the Water Management grant, there is an online checker
Check if you can apply for a Farming Transformation Fund Water Management grant
Application for a Farming Transformation Fund Water Management Grant
The Farming Transformation Fund Water Management Grant – Solar Water System
As part of our solar water system, we also fit one of our range of solar powered water pumps and pipes so you can distribute the water to exactly where you need it on the farm.
Pumps and pipes can be sized to provide more pressure and flow rate than mains water supply, and our pressure control system can be incorporated, enabling crop sprayers to fill much faster.
Water Management Solar Water Pumps
Our Solar Powered Pumps use the best quality solar panels to ensure maximum usage throughout the year, even on cloudy days with less sun. Our quick-release battery housing allows easy fast charging in the winter months when necessary.
Solar Pump – 12v Midi
Using a submersible pump unit the Midi water system can pump water 60m from the watercourse to a water tank or multiple troughs:
Head of 60m
Distance capability of 1000m
Capable of pumping up to 3000 litres of water a day
Solar Water Pump – 240v Maxi
Using a high-powered submersible steel pump the Maxi water system can pump water 60m from the watercourse to a water tank or multiple troughs:
Head of 60m
Distance capability of 1000m
Capable of pumping up to 3000 litres per hour
Solar Powered Pump – Major
Using a high-powered submersible steel pump the Maxi water system can pump water 160m from the watercourse to a water tank or multiple troughs:
Head of 160m
Distance capability of 2000m
Capable of pumping up to 4000 litres per hour
The Farming Transformation Fund – Water Management Grant – Solar Water System in a secure box
All of our range of 3 Solar Water Pumps are contained in their own secure boxes complete with automated water treatment, electric fence connection points and additional charge capacity.
All of our range of water pumps are ideal for rainwater harvesting!
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund – Solar Water Pumps, Water Tanks and Troughs
The Agrismart solar water pump is a complete water system in a box and is perfect for pumping water to water tanks either a vertical water tank, pillow tank or water troughs using solar power.
Benefiting from using renewable energy and eliminating ongoing costs, like costly electric pumps.
The solar powered water pump has a battery backup ensuring a reliable and consistent water supply.
The Farming Transformation Fund – Water Management Grant
Additional Features for Solar Water System Automation
Pressure Control System
Agrismart has developed a pressure control system designed to work with our renewable energy pumps, ensuring constant water pressure across all water outlets on the farm or buildings.
Tank Low Level Alarm
The Agrismart Tank Low Level Alarm is designed to send a text alert when there is a problem with the water level in your tank. It works in conjunction with our auto pump controller which tells the pump to stop when the tank is full.
Auto Pump Controller
Our Auto Pump Controller makes our renewable energy pump a completely automated water pumping system. Using the water pipe allows us to automatically stop and start a water pump with ease over a large distance.