The principle aim of the Dairy Fund is to support activity that facilitates a resilient and competitive dairy sector through projects that enable dairy farms across England to improve competitiveness. The aim will be delivered through grant support for the costs of exploring formal co-operation.
Who is eligible? The dairy fund is open to dairy farm businesses in England who are Industry Stakeholders, formerly constituted groups/organisations, trade associations, levy boards and research establishments as well as non farming businesses. It is anticipated the applicant will fall into one of the categories below:
a) Existing Formerly Constituted Groups/Organisations
b) An individual business acting on behalf of a multiple dairy farming businesses
Sam Catling from Rostons says that applicants who are eligible to apply, should consider an application for projects that they have delayed or even written off because of high start up costs.
Grants are available from £25,000 – circa. £1million. The application process is competitive and those projects offering the greatest return on grant investment are more likely to be successful. The application process includes two stages; an outline application stage followed by a full application. The deadline for submissions of applications is 5pm on 3 June 2013.