Government cash on offer to cover slurry handling improvement costs for England's farmers

The government is poised to offer grants of £25,000 - £250,000 to farmers in England towards the cost of improvements that will curb water and air pollution from slurry handling and make the best of slurry nutrients.

The £13m slurry infrastructure grant, which will be administered by the Rural Payments Agency, opens for applications on 6 December, for livestock farmers to build six months’ of slurry storage capacity.

According to Defra about half of slurry stores in England are not fit-for-purpose, forcing farmers to spread slurry when there is no benefit, wasting valuable fertiliser and causing air and water pollution.  Enlarging and covering slurry stores will help reduce the 60% of nitrate pollution, 25% of phosphate pollution and 87% of ammonia emissions that come from agriculture.

Bad management of slurry can lead to nitrate and phosphate entering rivers, streams and the sea damaging natural habitats and wildlife by causing algal blooms which block sunlight and deplete oxygen.