Grant aid from £27/ha-£101/ha is available to those adopting four new precision farming ‘actions’ that are now included in the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. The aim is to help farmers to adopt technology or practices to improve productivity, while benefiting the environment and help build more resilient businesses.
The new offer includes grant aid for:
- Variable rate application of nutrients
- Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying
- Robotic mechanical weeding
- Robotic non-mechanical weeding (non-herbicide)
Variable rate application of nutrients:
Annual payment: £27/ha
Duration: 3 years
Action’s aim: Variable Rate Application (VRA) technology is used to apply nutrients on arable, horticultural land or improved permanent grassland, to match the nutrient needs of crops in different areas within land parcels.
Sprayers can now easily apply variable rates from using prescription maps to control pulse width modulation (PWM) and automatic quad-nozzle systems.
Camera or remote sensor guided herbicide spraying:
Annual payment: £43/ha
Duration: 3 years
Action’s aim: Robotic camera-guided or remote sensing technology is used to precisely target the application of systemic herbicides to control weeds on arable land, permanent crops or grassland.
Robotic mechanical weeding:
Annual payment: £150/ha
Duration: 3 years
Action’s aim: Robotic mechanical weeding technology is used for precision weed control on arable and horticultural land, reducing or eliminating the use of systemic herbicides.
Robotic non-mechanical weeding:
Annual payment: £101/ha
Duration: 3 years
Action’s aim: Robotic non-mechanical weeding technology, such as laser or electric weeders, used for precision weed control on arable and horticultural land reducing or eliminating the use of systemic herbicides.
You can find more information on the scheme from Defra HERE
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