The West Midlands Farm Health Planning Initiative

CLOSED TO NEW APPLICATIONS

The West Midlands Farm Health Planning Initiative provides help to farmers to enable significant improvements to the health and welfare of their stock and to improve business performance. The initiative is part of the Rural Development Programme for England 2007 – 2013 and provides:

• A grant towards the preparation of a Farm Health Plan. This is delivered through the RDPE’s LandSkills West Midlands programme which managed by Lantra, and
• Farm Health Capital Grant. This is managed by Herefordshire Council in partnership with Lantra

This section of the website provides information on the Farm Health Capital Grant (FHCG) and should be read in conjunction with the general guidance which is available in the Resources box below.  A Farm Health Plan produced under this Initiative must support applications for the FHCG.

West Midlands Farm Health Planning Initiative is support funded under the Solutions for Business portfolio of publicly funded business support.

Farm Health Capital Grant

The Farm Health Capital Grant is a small capital grants programme, (for grants £62,500 and below) funded under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is available to commercial dairy, beef, sheep, pig, goat and poultry producers whose livestock enterprises provide a minimum of 900 hours of work per year.

If identified as priorities in your Farm Health Plan, the grant may support investments in the following areas:

• Livestock Handling
• Equipment 
• Improvements to buildings
• Specialised computer hardware and software

Further information relating to these areas is available in the Guidance for Applicants below.

How do I apply for a Farm Health Capital Grant?

You can apply for a grant once you have completed the Farm Health Plan process.

If you think you are eligible:

1. Obtain the Stage One application form from your veterinary surgeon. Your vet must be listed on the Lantra Veterinary Surgeon’s Panel. The list will be shortly available from the Rural Hubs or on the Lantra website;
2. Complete two copies of the Stage One application form (Section 1 only). It will establish eligibility and allow the farm health plan to proceed;
3. Return the 2 copies of the form to your vet who will agree your Farm Health Planning programme with you. You then work with your vet to develop the Farm Health Plan,
4. 4. On completion of the Farm Health Plan, your vet will give you one copy of the Stage One application form together with your Farm Health Plan and 2 signed copies of the Farm Health Plan Summary Certificate. The recommendations contained in a Farm Health Plan will be an essential requirement in justifying the need for a Farm Health Capital Grant;
5. Complete Section Two of the application form to register interest in the Farm Health Capital Grant with Herefordshire Council
6. Submit the application form plus a copy of your Farm Health Plan Summary Certificate to the Farm Health Grant Manager (FHGM) at Herefordshire Council;
7. If eligibility is agreed you will be given the full grant application form. A Project Officer will also make contact with you to arrange a visit to discuss your proposal and explain how to complete the application.
8. If relevant you will be put in touch with Business Link West Midlands who will help you assess any general need for training or business advice;
9. If planning permission is needed you will also need to secure this and/or listed building and other relevant consents (where this is a legal requirement) before submitting your full application;
10. Your application will be considered by an approval panel, which normally meets monthly. Most applications will be considered within 6 weeks of submission;
11. On receipt of approval, Herefordshire Council will issue a contract and you can commence work;
12. When the work has been completed and paid for, you can complete and submit a grant claim form. The FHG Manager will provide the relevant form and guidance on request. Individual claims must cover at least £2,500 of grant and be based on the net costs of the work. Claims can relate to more than one item.

How do I find out more?

To find out more you can download Guidance for Applicants by clicking the appropriate resource from the box below.

Contacts:

For further information on Farm Health Plans, contact LANTRA on 0845 278 8800.

For more information on applying for a Farm Health Capital Grant contact Herefordshire Council:

Dorothy Coleman

Rural Grants Manager

dmc@herefordshire.gov.uk

T: 01432 383616

Caroline Cattle

Rural Grants Manager

ccattle@herefordshire.gov.uk

T: 01432 260662

For further information about the RDPE and other grant schemes contact Advantage West Midlands:

Bob Gregson
RDPE Manager
bobgregson@advantagewm.co.uk
T: 0121 380 3623

Jamie Inglis
Rural Policy Manager (RDPE)
jamieinglis@advantagewm.co.uk
T: 0121 503 3226

Jo Jury
Tourism Support Manager
jojury@advantagewm.co.uk
T: 0121 503 3220

Joanna Fletcher
Transnational Working Advisor
joannafletcher@advantagewm.co.uk
T: 0121 503 3214