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For a small farm, investing in new technologies can be very expensive, but obtaining funds from related grant programs can reduce the financial burden.

James Kent and his father-in-law Robert Floyd have a 100-hectare farm in Bransford, Worcestershire. They used several government and private grants to help renew their mechanical fleet.

This includes upgrading the tractor to automatic steering, adding some controls to the old self-propelled sprayer, and purchasing new no-tillage machines and high-end fertilizer applicators.

“In a farm like ours, your income is not enough to justify buying new equipment with the latest technology, but the grant helps make this possible,” Mr. Kent said.

"As far as we are concerned, we are also able to upgrade to some larger kits, which means we are capable of contracting work."

Mr. Kent first realized the potential of grant funds when he participated in a Severn Trent event on a local farm.

Since his land is located in the Teme River catchment area that flows into Severn, he found himself eligible to apply for the Steps (Severn Trent Environmental Protection Program) grant.

These programs are designed to help farmers invest in equipment or farming methods that help protect water quality, biodiversity, and the natural environment.

The funds cover half of the investment, up to £5,000, and the farm can apply once a year.

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Anxious to improve the accuracy of his spraying operations, Mr. Kent submitted a grant application to help pay for the additional control and automatic shutdown of his 24m Kellands Agribuggy Phantom self-propelled aircraft.

The process was relatively simple. He received £2,500 for the purchase of a Teejet Matrix Pro 570 system worth £5,000.

"All I have to do is prove that the investment will help improve water quality, which in this case is simple," Mr. Kent said.

Severn Agriculture, a sprayer specialist in Gloucestershire, provided and installed it, including the installation of a GPS device and a control screen connected to the existing spray controller.

To use it, Mr. Kent only needs to record the field boundaries while spraying the field, and then the system will automatically open and close these parts when he is working on the main body of the field.

A few years later, he applied for a second Steps grant to retrofit the farm’s 2003 John Deere 6820 automatic steering system.

By this time, the competition for grants has become increasingly fierce, and the link to improve water quality is more difficult to prove.

"I made it clear in my application that we have a phased plan to improve application accuracy, and automatic steering will be a key part of it," he said.

"By building a story, I managed to show that there will be greater benefits in the long run."

The system was purchased from the local John Deere distributor Tallis Amos for £20,000, with a grant of £5,000. It includes a Starfire 6000 receiver, an ATU300 motor kit for turning the steering wheel, and a 4640 display.

The Isobus wiring harness has also been added, allowing the screen to run compatible tools.

Recently, the farm reached a deal to replace the 6820 with a more modern automatic steering system, the 6155R. However, they have been able to transfer the receiver and screen to the new tractor.

The GPS grant application also paved the way for a product he recently purchased using the STEPS program-a high-spec Amazone ZA-TS fertilizer applicator with a load cell and automatic partial control.

The purchase price is 16,000 pounds, and the grant covers 5,000 pounds. "In fact, we don't need such a complicated spreader, but the grant allows us to buy it at the same price as the more basic model."

When it was necessary to replace the aging drill bits on the farm, Mr. Kent applied for another grant, this time provided by Leader.

As a result of subscribing to the Worcester County Council mailing list, which made him notice the launch of the program, he encountered it.

Since it is provided by the government rather than a private company, the application process is much more complicated and more evidence is needed to prove the benefits it will bring.

Usually, the farmer outsources this task to a land agent or consultant at a considerable cost, but due to his previous career in the Royal Air Force, Mr. Kent is familiar with the level of bureaucracy.

"I would say that I spent about 20 hours sorting out all the paperwork, but we have £25,000 for the exercise, which means the time is well spent."

The only drawback is that the funds did not arrive until a few months after the drilling costs were paid, which caused the farm to fall into an overdraft.

"All these plans are the same, and it prevents some people who really need money from getting it."

The drilling rig in question is a 4 million-tail no-till Weaving GD with a total cost of £60,000. With this, the farm began to switch to regenerative agriculture, planting cover crops and doing some direct drilling.

However, they still use McConnel Shakaerator to raise some of the ground, and use a set of tulip discs to break up clods when needed.

With the help of the rural management capital water subsidy, the sprayer filling area of ​​the farm has been renewed.

The total amount of funds is 10,000 pounds, accounting for half of the project cost. It involves using the two compartments of the new barn for a covered filling and washing area with a built-in IBC filtration system.

Mr. Kent can choose to apply for a Severn Trent Steps grant to cover part of the cost of this work, but the funding will be half of the Capital Water Grant.

He also applied for an intermediate rural management plan, which included placing half of the farms in AB15 for a two-year legume fallow period.

If successful, this will pay 522 pounds per hectare and will help improve soil quality and reduce the burden of black grass.

The funds he has not yet used are provided by the Rural Productivity Small Grant Program and will soon be replaced by the Agricultural Transformation Fund.

The reason for this is that it is suitable for specific items that are not needed on the farm.

"I was asked to test the new plan on the website, so I should find out as soon as possible whether there is something that is good for us."

The farm has recently made diversified investments, investing in 12,000 free-range laying hens, and will soon join another unit of the same size.

Due to the labor shortage caused by the pandemic, Mr. Kent was able to apply to the Worcester County Council for a Covid recovery grant, in which £10,000 was invested in the installation of a £22,500 robotic egg tray stacker.

By removing the trays of 30 eggs from the existing machine and stacking them into 6 piles to be loaded onto the trays, there is no need to add a person to the packaging line.

The secret to obtaining grant funding is to be ready at all times. Mr. Kent said that many projects are limited by the total amount of funding or the number of applications, so it is easy to miss opportunities.

"I now know where to look for new funding. When I see funding related to us, I will fight for it.

"However, it must be what we really need-it doesn't make sense to invest for it, because you still have to pay at least half of the cost."

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