THE Catchment Sensitive Farming initiative is making a record £21.5 million available this year to help farmers carry out improvement works that will improve drinking water quality and enhance local wetland environments.

From Northumberland to Cornwall and Cumbria to Kent, farmers in 75 priority catchment areas of England submitted more than 3,000 applications for funding from the Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) capital grants scheme this year.

The Catchment Sensitive Farming team has announced that more than nine out of ten applications received were successful and grants totaling £21.5m have now been allocated, including more than £9.8m for farmers in South West England.

The CSF Capital Grants Scheme offers up to 50 per cent funding for carrying out practical works that boost the health of England’s precious streams, rivers, meres and mosses by improving water quality and reducing pollution from agricultural activity.

More than 40 types of project are eligible for funding and the grant scheme is open to farmers and land managers in the CSF scheme’s priority areas.

The grants will help England’s farmers roof over livestock feeding areas, separate clean and dirty water in farmyards, install new livestock and machinery tracks, fence off farmland water courses to exclude livestock, and install rainwater harvesting equipment. The grant funding can also be used to create sediment ponds and install bio-beds and sprayer wash-down areas to reduce pesticide run off into watercourses.

Geoff Sansome, Director of Land Management (South) for Natural England said: “Work funded by this scheme over recent years is already providing cost savings for thousands of farmers, bringing work to local businesses and enhancing local environments throughout England by improving water quality. It’s good news not only for the environment but also for our regional food producers and local businesses that this year the scheme’s £21.5m budget has been fully committed and will be supporting a total of 2,700 projects throughout England. I am delighted that further work will be carried out on more than a thousand farms in the south west of England as a result of the funding made available this year.”

In addition to the grants scheme, the specialist training and advice offered by the Catchment Sensitive Farming project can save farmers’ money, leading to better business efficiency while at the same time bringing positive environmental outcomes. The free, specialist advice on offer covers a wide range of topics from providing information on nutrient management, planning and soil husbandry, to details of the latest developments in fertilizer spreader calibration and soil & water management.

The Capital Grant Scheme is available again this year with the application window being between 1st March to the 30th of April 2013.

For more information about Catchment Sensitive Farming please visit the website at www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwor k/farming/csf or email CSFInformationandQueriesNE@natu ralengland.org.uk