The long-awaited new funding which will enable dairy farmers in England to access up to £10,000 to overcome the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak was announced on Wednesday 3rd June.
Applications will open on 18th June to support dairy farmers who have seen a decrease in demand and milk price during April and May 2020.
The funding has been much anticipated by those impacted by Covid-19, who have seen their income slashed due to the spot price falling during April and May.
Payment will commence from the 6th July 2020 and applications will have to be processed rapidly by the RPA.
The funding is available for those who need it the most and eligible dairy farmers will be entitled up to £10,000 each to cover 70% of their lost income during April and May, this is to ensure they can continue to operate and sustain production while still providing excellent animal welfare.
Those dairy farmers who have lost more than 25% of their income over April and May compared to February, due to the impact of Coronavirus will be eligible to access this funding for those qualifying months. There is currently no cap set on the total funding available or the number of farmers that can receive this support.
Despite this originally being announced on 6th May, there is still no confirmation of the process to apply, however those who believe they are eligible should start by preparing details of their production levels for February, April and May 2020.
Tom Selby of Rostons states “The scheme has been a long time coming and will be for some too late. Those larger dairy farmers may well be out of pocket however 25% is a big proportion of milk sales, however, £10,000 to any dairy farmer will be appreciated provided the scheme is not exploited!”