Guidance

About the Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2, who can apply and what it can pay for

Updated 10 April 2024

Applies to England

You can apply for a grant to improve or expand your slurry storage capacity and to cover your stores. You must use the grant to reach the grant storage requirements:

• 6 months for beef and dairy cattle
• 8 months for pigs

Definition of slurry

Slurry is defined by the Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (England) Regulations 2010 (SSAFO) as: “liquid or semi-liquid matter composed of excreta produced by livestock while in a yard or building (including that held in wood chip corrals); or a mixture wholly or mainly consisting of livestock excreta, livestock bedding, rainwater and washings from a building or yard used by livestock, of a consistency that allows it to be pumped or discharged by gravity at any stage in the handling process”.

About the grant

The grant is available to help replace, build additional, expand or cover existing slurry stores to reach the grant storage requirements.  This will help you improve the use of organic nutrients on your farm and reduce pollution. Your slurry storage capacity must be based on existing livestock numbers.

This grant is only available for slurry stores located in England.

Eligible slurry stores include tanks, lagoons and concrete stores fitted with impermeable covers and large permanent bags. You must fit grant funded stores with an impermeable cover, unless you are installing a slurry bag or you treat your slurry through acidification.

The grant will also fund items to help you manage your slurry store, such as reception pits, slurry pumps and agitators. For Round 2, you can also get a grant towards a slurry separator.

Investing in future-proofed slurry infrastructure will help to:

• make better use of organic nutrients
• improve water quality
• improve air quality
• reduce greenhouse gases

The Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 uses reference costs to work out the maximum amount of grant you could get. The online checker will give you an estimate based on your project needs. When you come to claim your grant, you will get the amount listed for your items (the ‘reference cost’) or 50% of the total invoice costs, whichever is the lower amount. For full details of the reference costs of eligible items read the item specifications.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will prioritise projects that have the greatest environmental benefit. If oversubscribed in Round 2, RPA will prioritise projects in areas that need urgent action to reduce water and air pollution from agriculture and restore natural habitats.

RPA expect to fund more than double the number of projects that were shortlisted in Round 1, so we have significantly expanded the priority areas. You can check how applications will be prioritised in Round 2.

There will be a further round in 2024.

Who can apply

You can apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 if your farming system already produces slurry, and you farm pigs, beef or dairy cattle.

Both land owning and tenant farmers can apply. The slurry store must be built on land you own or farm as a tenant.

If you are offered a grant, RPA will send you a grant funding agreement. This sets out conditions that you must meet for 5 years from the payment of your final claim.  During this time, you must:

• not fall below the grant storage requirements, including any changes in animal numbers
• keep your grant funded slurry store covers in place (except during periods of maintenance)
• produce and use a nutrient management plan based on up-to-date soil sampling
• follow best practice guidance for using a mechanical separator, if your project includes one

You may have to repay your grant if you do not meet these conditions.

If you are a tenant, it is your responsibility to obtain any necessary permissions from your landlord. If you are on a tenancy of less than 5 years but you expect it to continue, you can sign the grant funding agreement on your own.

Alternatively, you can ask your landlord to underwrite your agreement. This means that if your tenancy ends your landlord agrees to take over the project, for example by completing the conditions themselves or passing the agreement on to a new tenant. This approach is optional and RPA will only ask for confirmation when you submit a full application.

Who cannot apply

You cannot get grant funding if you:

• do not currently produce slurry
• produce slurry but already meet the grant storage requirements and all your stores are fit-for-purpose
• intend to use the store for anything other than storing slurry

The following groups are not eligible for a grant:

• other types of farms, for example poultry, sheep or arable-only farmers
• horticultural growers
• farming businesses that only provide contractor services
• public organisations, including Crown bodies and non-departmental public bodies

What the grant can pay for

You can choose from different types of stores, store covers and store accessories. All items must meet the specifications.

Types of slurry store

You can use the grant to pay for:

• above-ground steel slurry stores
• precast circular concrete slurry stores
• earth bank lagoons, with or without synthetic liner
• stores using precast rectangular concrete panels
• in-situ cast reinforced concrete stores
• large volume supported slurry bags (over 2,500 cubic metres (m³))

Types of slurry covers

You can use the grant to pay for fixed or floating flexible covers.

You must fit new or expanded stores with an impermeable cover unless you are installing a slurry bag or using acidification. This will prevent rainwater from entering the store and reduce ammonia emissions.

Acidification is the use of acid treatment or other technologies (such as plasma treatment) to lower and maintain the pH value of slurry to below 6 at the point of storage. Stabilising the pH of slurry substantially reduces ammonia emissions. To be exempt from covering your store, you must be able to acidify all your slurry before you apply. You cannot use this grant to pay for slurry acidification systems.

In Round 2 you can use the Slurry Infrastructure grant to cover existing stores that are fit-for-purpose. This will help you keep more rainwater out of your stores and count towards your storage capacity. You can only get a grant to cover existing stores to help you meet the minimum storage requirements for the grant.

Slurry store accessories

You can also use the grant to pay for additional items for your grant funded slurry store, such as:

• a slurry separator with gantry and temporary storage for the stackable material from the separator
• a reception pit
• electric-powered slurry transfer pump
• powered take off (PTO) or hydraulically driven chopper pump
• galvanised steel pipework 100mm or 150mm diameter
• polyethylene (PE) or equivalent pipework 100mm or 150mm diameter
• under-floor transfer channels
• slurry store wall or in-situ mixers
• inspection platform with ladder for above-ground concrete and steel slurry stores
• safety fencing for stores constructed below ground level, earth-bank lagoons and slurry bags

For the full list of accessories and more details, read the item specifications. All items bought must meet the minimum specification.

If you intend to purchase any second-hand slurry store accessories, you will need to obtain confirmation from the supplier that it has a 5-year life and has not received previous grant funding.

You cannot incur any eligible costs before the start date on your grant funding agreement. This includes:

• committing to any eligible costs as set out in the specifications, including paying deposits
• placing an order
• starting construction work, such as digging out the lagoon

Any costs you incur before the start date on your grant funding agreement may make your whole project ineligible if it is considered to have been started.

You can do work to prepare for your project before you apply, such as seeking quotes from suppliers, soil sampling and applying for planning permission.

What the grant cannot pay for

The following costs are not eligible for grant funding (this list is not exhaustive):

• planning permission
• demolition and removal of old slurry stores
• repairs and maintenance of existing slurry stores
• second-hand slurry stores, covers and infrastructure
• projects where contracts have been entered into or construction has started
• any costs incurred before the project start date shown in the grant funding agreement
• in kind contributions - this means the value of donated work or services, such as the cost of using your own labour, vehicle and office space
• weeping wall stores
• slatted floor cellar stores under livestock accommodation
• low volume or temporary slurry bags, which are not kept in a permanent bund
• anaerobic digestion (AD) plants
• the processing or storage of digestate from an AD plant
• slurry acidification systems
• permeable slurry store covers like free-floating plastic plates, lightweight clay aggregate (LECA) balls, high density polyethylene (HDPE) water-filled balls or chopped straw
• roofing yards, wash-down areas, manure storage areas, livestock gathering areas, silage stores (other than covers for storing solid fraction of separated slurry as part of a separator package)
• concreting yard areas, other than that included as part of a separator package
• power generation, for example solar panels

You may be able to apply for other grants to fund some of these items.

Grant rules for improving storage

You must use the grant to reach the grant storage requirements. These requirements depend on the type of livestock that you mainly farm:

• 6 months for beef and dairy cattle
• 8 months for pigs

Your storage requirements must be based on your existing livestock numbers. Existing livestock means the typical number of animals you kept on the farm over the last year. The last year is counted from the point you submit your full application.

You can still apply if you plan to expand your capacity beyond the grant storage requirements, but your grant payment will be capped. Your grant contribution will be based on the amount of storage you need to reach the grant storage requirements for your existing livestock.

Grant funded projects will need to maintain the grant storage requirements for all animals on the holding for the duration for the grant funding agreement. This means you’ll need to make appropriate upgrades to your storage if you increase the number of animals on your holding in the future.

You can use the grant to:

• replace existing stores that are no longer fit for purpose
• add additional storage, if other stores that will stay part of your system meet slurry storage regulations, were built to relevant standards and remain fit for purpose
• expand an existing store, for example by adding another ring to a suitable steel tank
• cover new and existing stores

Eligible equipment, including separators, can only be added to a project with one of these options.

A store is no longer fit for purpose if it has reached the end of its design life and could be susceptible to leaks or failure. If you replace a store that is not fit for purpose, you must stop using the old store for slurry or other organic material.

If you are expanding or covering a store it must be structurally suitable. It will need to meet current regulations and build standards when complete.

The regulations you must follow when planning your slurry storage are:

• The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (England) Regulations 2010 (see guidance on storing slurry for more information)
• The Nitrate Pollution Prevention (Amendment) Regulations 2016 (see guidance on storing organic manures in nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) for more information)
• The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018 (see the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW) guidance for more information)
• The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR), which include protections for groundwater

Defra, the Environment Agency and RPA have produced resources to help you understand these regulations when planning your store.

How the grant works

You’ll need to follow a 3-stage application process.

Stage 1: Slurry wizard and online checker

You must first have a good understanding of your current and future slurry storage requirements. Use the slurry wizard tool to help you do this. You should use the latest version (October 2023 or later), updated by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the Environment Agency.

You can then complete the online checker to see if you’re eligible and to check how much grant you might get, based on your storage needs.

If you wish to proceed you can submit your online application via the checker.

If demand is high, RPA will prioritise projects that have the greatest environmental outcomes based on location. You will be told if you have been shortlisted after the online checker closes.

Stage 2: Slurry store location and design assessment

If your project is shortlisted, RPA will ask you to complete a slurry store location and design assessment form. This will be assessed by the Environment Agency to ensure you meet the grant storage requirements and regulations.

You must submit your slurry store location and design assessment form by 30 September 2024.

Stage 3: Full application

If the Environment Agency confirm that their location and design assessment is satisfactory, you will be asked to submit your full application. RPA will assess your project to make sure that it is viable, as well as the current financial viability of your business and how you will fund the project until you claim the grant.

You must submit your full application by 27 June 2025.

If your full application is eligible and you meet all the conditions, RPA will offer you a grant.

How much money you can apply for

The minimum grant you can apply for is £25,000. The maximum grant is £250,000 for each applicant business, per round. If your business has multiple sites, you should submit separate online applications for each site you want to apply for. You can only submit one application per site per round.

The grant is paid in arrears. You can make a maximum of 3 claims over the duration of the project.

You must have sufficient funds to pay for items in full before claiming your grant payment. You can use loans, overdrafts and certain other grants such as the Basic Payment Scheme. You can also use a loan from your landlord, including Local Authority landlords.

If you would like further guidance on what types of funding you can use, contact us at FTF@rpa.gov.uk to discuss further.  

Your final grant payments will be based on the reference cost contribution for the items you need or 50% of the actual invoice costs at claim stage, whichever is the lower amount. This helps ensure the grant fund is distributed fairly.

You cannot use this grant to carry out capital works which are required under other agreements. You must also make sure no items in your application are replacements covered by an insurance claim.

Businesses based in Northern Ireland

Any monies from the Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 must not be used to cross-subsidise any related, linked, parent, subsidiary, partnership, joint venture businesses or operations based in Northern Ireland. Funds from this grant must be used solely for the purposes of England business operations only.