Part B
Filling in the Excel application appendix
This is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you must complete in full and send to us as an Excel attachment with your application. There are 6 tabs for you to fill in:
- Productivity details
- A - Financial impact
- B - Costs & suppliers
- C - Funding & claims
- D - Project milestones
- E - Outputs
You need to fill in each tab in the order shown above as the information you fill in will feed into and add the data in other tabs.
We will use the information you enter in this page to score and assess how well the project meets the priorities for the Improving Farm Productivity theme. The information will also be used to create your project outputs.
You need to fill in the tables providing information on your current position and your forecast for the future. Current means the existing situation, before undertaking the project. Forecast means what will happen after the project has been completed.
If you wish to explain any of the information you enter in the ‘Productivity details’ tab, please use question 8.1.1 in the application form to do so.
Application details
You need to enter your business name, project name, and the project reference number from the top of your invitation to submit a full application email.
Question 1
Tell us about the equipment you are applying for funding for in the table.
• Which eligible item(s) does your project need? - Select the item that you have included in your grant funded expenditure from the drop-down list. If you select ‘other autonomous robotic technology’ you must detail the make and model in the box at question 2.
• Quantity – For each item selected enter the number you are applying for.
• Are you already using this type of equipment? - Tell us if the items that you have included in your grant funded expenditure have been used by your business before.
Select ‘Yes, we’re using it now’, or ‘Yes, we’re using an earlier model’, or ‘Yes, as a pilot, demonstration or trial’, or ‘No – this will be the first time’ from the drop-down list.
• Which agricultural sector will you be using it in? – Tell us which agricultural sector the equipment will be mainly used in.
Select ‘horticulture’, or ‘arable’, or ‘non-dairy livestock’, or ‘dairy livestock’ from the drop-down list.
• How will the item be powered? – Tell us what energy source will be used to power each piece of equipment you are applying for.
Reducing environmental impacts is a key aim of the scheme. Therefore, robotic equipment utilising an electric or renewable energy source will be prioritised over fossil fuel (for example diesel) powered equipment. Biofuels are considered as renewable energy under this scheme.
If there is no alternative, you need to explain this in your answer at question 8.1.3 in the full application form.
Select ‘Tractor mounted (fossil fuel)’, ‘Tractor mounted (non-fossil fuel)’, ‘Self-propelled (fossil fuel)’, ‘Self-propelled (non-fossil fuel)’, ‘Fossil fuel’, or ‘Non fossil fuel’, from the drop-down list.
If you wish to apply for more than three different items, you must email FTF@rpa.gov.uk to request a revised form.
Question 2
If you selected ‘other autonomous robotic technology’ at question 1 you need to detail the make and model in the box provided.
Question 3
For projects involving slurry acidification, where funding is being requested for additional slurry application equipment eligible under FETF, select the additional items from the drop-down list. Enter the number of items that you require as part of your project.
Item questions
For each item selected at question 1 a set of tables will be shown below. You will need to provide answers to the following questions for each item.
Item question 1
To help us understand the nature of the project and how the technology will help your business, tell us about how the proposed equipment will do the activity.
In around 200 words, describe what the activity is, what the equipment will do, and what it will achieve.
For example, the purchase of a robotic weeder will remove weeds between growing plants which would otherwise be done manually. The robot will reduce labour requirements. It will achieve this by using a crop imaging system which can identify the individual growing plants of the crop from the weeds. The robot will remove the weeds from around the growing plants using a mechanical hoeing system. The new equipment will significantly improve the productivity and efficiency of the business making it more viable for the future and less reliant on seasonal labour.
Item question 2
To help us understand why the equipment is needed tell us how the activity is currently undertaken. In around 200 words, please describe what equipment you currently use to do this activity.
For example, currently the weeding is undertaken in part by chemical spraying and manual weeding using seasonal labour where selective herbicide treatment is not possible for the weeds present.
Item question 3
Tell us about the how the proposed equipment will impact on the inputs and outputs associated with the activity each year compared to that of your existing equipment?
We need you to provide these figures so we can assess the impact the proposed equipment will have on the activity it will undertake. The information you enter needs to relate to this activity only and not your whole business operation.
In the ‘units’ column put the type of units you have used in the ‘existing’ and ‘future’ columns for example, hours (for labour requirements).
In the ‘existing’ column, enter the amount that relates to the activities current position without the benefit of the proposed equipment.
In the ‘future’ column, enter the amount you expect once the activity is undertaken with the benefit of the proposed equipment.
In the ‘calculations and assumptions used’ column you need to explain the calculations, assumptions, or evidence used to arrive at the amount stated in the ‘existing’ and ‘future’ columns. If you need to provide more information this can be sent with your full application as a separate document. You need to reference this document in this column for example, Annex 20 – manufacturers evidence of the reduction in ammonia emissions.’
If you consider that any of the ‘Inputs and Outputs’ are not applicable to your project, enter ‘N/A’.
If you want to further explain any of the information you have entered in the table, please use question 8.1.1 in the application form. Make sure you clearly reference which ‘Input’ or ‘Output’ figures you are referring to, for example, fossil fuel usage for Item A would be A3d – The fossil fuel usage for the activity.
Item Question 4
You only need to fill in this question if you are applying for advanced ventilation control systems, or slurry mild acidification equipment.
Item Question 4a
You need to confirm the number of livestock places the project will accommodate, not the number of animals you rear per year in the building(s). You will need to provide existing and future numbers in the table provided, even if there are no changes proposed in livestock places.
Enter ‘N/A’ in the ‘Existing Livestock’ column for any livestock category not applicable.
In the ‘Existing Livestock’ column, enter the amount that relates to the current number of places without the benefit of the proposed equipment.
In the ‘Future Livestock’ column, enter the amount that relates to the number of places you expect once the activity is undertaken with the benefit of the proposed equipment.
Item Question 4b
Tell us, in the box provided, what percentage of ammonia reduction is forecast from the equipment?
For example, if your slurry acidification equipment would result in a 90% reduction in ammonia emissions you would enter ‘90’.
Declarations
Please read this section and make sure that you agree with and can meet the requirements set out in it. By submitting and/or agreeing to the submission of the application appendix spreadsheet, you will be agreeing to the declaration.
We need to understand how the purchase of the equipment will financially benefit your business in the future.
Fill in the table, record the additional costs or savings as a result of the project. Under each heading enter the total income or cost for your business, in £, for 2 years after the completion of your project and when your project will be operational. For example, when the robotic weeding equipment is operational, the saving in agrichemicals used.
You need to fill in the supplier’s name, the quoted amount (both excluding and including VAT) and the supplier’s VAT and Companies House registration number (where applicable) for each item.
You’ll need to provide these details for each supplier, starting with your preferred supplier and moving to the right to fill in the columns for the second and third suppliers.
You need to show all costs that are being included in your grant application. If you can group the costs into subheadings. For example, robotic weeder or electric charging point.
You should also fill in the table under the main project expenditure table to show any non-grant funded project expenditure. These are costs that are critical to the project, but you are not asking for grant support for as it is an ineligible item. For example, a feed storage area for a robotic feeding system.
Much of the information in this tab will be copied from the details you fill in on tab B. You first need to confirm if you are including irrecoverable VAT in your project costs. Enter Y/N into the box on line 4. This will mean the correct costs are transferred in from tab B.
You then enter the grant rate to work out the grant, for example if you are requesting grant funding at 40%, enter 40 into the grant rate box. Don’t use a % sign. Once you have entered the grant rate, the total grant amount requested will be shown.
The grant rate needs to be the same for all costs that you are requesting grant funding for.
Your non-grant funded expenditure will also be copied from the table you filled in on tab B.
Once you have entered the grant rate for each item, check the project cost summary table to make sure all the details are correct.
For slurry mild acidification projects, where applying for additional FETF items select the item you are applying for from the drop-down list in the ‘FETF Item’ table. Then enter the number of items you are applying for to calculate the grant. Once you have entered the total number of items, the total grant amount requested will be shown.
Once you have entered the total number for each item, check the project cost summary table to make sure all details are correct.
You should then fill in the claims table at the right of the tab. You need to put up to 3 claim dates on line 7 (you can overtype the date in red) and put the eligible cost that you plan to include in each claim for every item. The grant amount will be shown and the totals for each claim will be calculated at the bottom of the table. As you add each item of expenditure to a claim, the figure in column N to the right of the claims table will show £0.00. Expenditure remaining to be allocated to claims will remain in red.
For slurry mild acidification projects, where you are applying for additional FETF items, select the number of items you are applying for to calculate the claim total. The grant amount will be shown and the totals for each claim will be worked out at the bottom of the table.
When setting your claim dates, think about when your costs will occur and when the invoice(s) will be paid in full. You don’t have to have 3 claims you can submit just 1 or 2.
We do not normally pay grant on a deposit until the item is fully installed and operational. However, there may be sometimes where a large deposit needs to be paid at the point of ordering. If you are not able to wait until the item is installed and operational you can claim for it. If you do need to claim a deposit payment, it should not be more than 40% of the value of the item and it should be clearly set out in your claim schedule.
Check that you have filled in the costs and claims table and checked to make sure that the project cost summary is correct. You should scroll down to check that the claim table at the bottom of the tab is also correct. This should accurately show when you plan to submit each claim, the total expenditure included in each claim and the grant amount you intend to claim.
If you have more than 1 claim, you need to make sure that the final claim is at least 15% of the total grant amount being requested.
Fill in your key project milestones or stages for your project in the table on this tab. You should show the implementation of the project and the full dates (for example, 31 August 2023) that they have been or are expected to be achieved.
Examples might include:
- installation of equipment
- commissioning of equipment
- staff trained
- equipment fully functional on farm
- any additional outputs or targets not listed on tab E ‘Outputs’ that you will achieve following the project and that you will use to assess the success of your project.
The project milestones should show the key steps of your project delivery, what you will need to do and when.
The table on this tab lists all project outputs we expect your project to meet as part of your Improving Farm Productivity grant.
This table will be filled in for you using the information you have entered in the ‘Productivity details’ tab.
A key aim of this scheme is to enhance the use of the data collected by the equipment for decision making purposes.
If you are successful with your grant application, we will provide you with further guidance regarding data monitoring and reporting with your grant funding agreement. This will be based on the inputs and outputs you have provided at question 8.1.2 in the application form, and in the table at Item question 3 in the ‘Productivity details’ tab of the application appendix spreadsheet.