If you're a farmer in England, you can get up to 38% off a Cotter Crate, 50% off Automed Dosing Guns and 50% off Weigh heads & EID readers through the Animal Health and Welfare section of the 2024 Farm Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF). Full detail of the scheme here.
Key info:
- Competitive grant, applicants will not automatically get a grant.
- Your application is scored based on the item(s) applied for. The highest scores are ranked and get funding until the budget is exhausted.
- You can increase your score by 20% by obtaining vet support for your animal health and welfare investment (must get the advice after 1 Jan 2024 and before 1 Jan 2025.
- Minimum of £1,000 of a grant and max of £25,000.
- The amount you receive on an item is the lesser of the amount paid and the average item cost as listed on the FETF item details.
- The relevant cost is the item ex VAT, and does not include delivery or installation costs.
- The item must be new and you must keep it for 5 years from the date the claim is paid.
- You can apply even if you received money from previous FETF grants
- If you previously applied for an item, you can apply for the same item again (RPA will ask for an explanation)
- You can only accept grant funding under the animal health and welfare heading ONCE in 2024.
- You can put a 50% deposit down to secure an item at any time. You can't fully pay for the item until you receive and accept your Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). Once you get delivery, you can them submit your claim.
The Cotter Crate Sheep + Lamb Handler is eligible under the following headings on the Animal Health and Welfare item list:
- FETF71 - Sheep handler
Expected average cost: £3,381
Grant amount: £1,690
Score: 1,330
Grant you should receive: £1,690 (the lowest cost Cotter Crate is more expensive that the expected cost)
Item must: "be a clamp-style handler for dagging and dosing sheep"
Any Cotter Crate qualifies ✅
- FETF80SH - Weigh bars and weigh platforms for livestock less than 300kg
Expected average cost: £1,100
Grant amount: £550
Score: 860
Grant you should receive: £550 (our load bars are more expensive than the expected average cost)
Item must: "be electronic load bars or an electronic weigh platform to operate with digital weigh heads or readers for use with livestock up to 300kg; be suitable for use with races, crates, or pens for pigs, sheep, or calves; be capable of weighing 500kg to allow for handling equipment"
The Weigh Bars added to your Cotter Crate qualifies ✅
Automed Smart Dosing Gun
- FETF101SH - Automatic EID gun for drench or pour on (46% effective grant)
Expected Average Cost: £808
Grant amount: £404
Score: 1,107
Grant you should receive: £404 (Automed is more expensive that expected cost)
Item must: "be an automatic EID gun for drenching or pour on; wirelessly communicate with a weigh head or stock reader to automatically adjust the dosage of drench or pour on, depending on the animal’s weight, and upload and download medicine reports using wireless technology."
Automed Gun with 20ml Oral/Pour-on Adapter qualifies ✅
- FETF102SH - Automatic vaccination gun for livestock (50% effective grant)
Expected Average Cost: £917
Grant amount: £458
Score: 2,040
Grant you should receive: £435 (you should receive a slightly lower amount as Automed is less expensive than average cost. £870 * 0.5 = £435)
Item must: "be an automatic vaccination gun for livestock; wirelessly communicate with a weigh head or stock reader to automatically adjust the dosage of vaccine or medicine depending on the animal’s weight; download or upload vaccination reports using wireless technology."
Automed Gun with 10ml Injection Adapter ✅ and Automed Gun with 3ml bottle mount Adapter qualifies ✅
Weigh Heads and EID readers
- FETF78SH - Individual electronic weigh system (Weigh heads)
Expected average cost: £1,246
Grant amount: £623
Score: 510
Item must: "be an individual electronic weigh system; be a digital weighing device which can record and display individual animal weights; be able to track live weight gains and access recorded information on individual animals such as breeding or movements; include a mobile device if required for functionality to input, access, record or display data within the system; be compatible with EID readers and automatic drafting systems."
TruTest JR5000 and TruTest XR5000 qualifies ✅
- FETF81SH - EID handheld recorder device (high spec EID readers)
Expected average cost: £984
Grant amount: £492
Score: 1,440
Item must: "be an EID handheld device with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for data reading and recording of individual animals; be able to record information on breeding, births, weights, treatments and movements; include a mobile device if required to input, access, and record data within the device; export data to a computer-based software package to monitor livestock."
Agrident AWR300 ✅ and Agrident APR450 qualifies ✅
Grant you should receive: Both of these readers are cheaper than the average cost, so you should instead receive 50% of what they cost (AWR300 costs £679, APR450 costs £609).
- FETF82SH - EID handheld device (other stick readers)
Expected average cost: £636
Grant amount: £318
Score: 1,440
Item must: "be an EID handheld device (stick reader) with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for individual reading of animals; scan tags and store tag data; connect wirelessly to mobile phones or other devices; read HDX and FDX B tags"
TruTest SRS2 ✅ and TruTest XRS2 qualifies ✅
Grant you should receive: the cost of the TruTest SRS2 is lower than the expected average cost, so you will simply receive 50% of what it costs. For the XRS2, it's more expensive than the average cost, so you'll receive the grant amount of £318 (a 29% effective grant).
