Funding is being made available to farmers in England to help them overcome current significant financial barriers to investing in slurry storage on farm.

The NFU said adequate slurry storage is essential for farmers to continue protecting water courses and improve water and air quality.

Defra has launched the first round of its Slurry Infrastructure Grant with £13million being made available.

Farmers will be able to apply for grants of between £25,000 - £250,000 towards the cost of building, replacing or expanding slurry storage to achieve six months capacity.

NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said: “The farming industry has already made significant progress, with a 75 per cent reduction in serious pollution incidents year-on-year compared to 2000. Farmers want and can do more to cut pollution levels and this grant will go a long way to supporting that.

“Though some farmers have plans, equipment and infrastructure in place to manage the nutrients in their slurry and manure, others face significant financial barriers to having sufficient slurry storage.

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"The new funding being made available through the Slurry Infrastructure Grant scheme will provide farmers in England an opportunity to invest in slurry systems and boost their storage capacity to six months.

"This will help drive improvements that further reduce the environmental impact of those businesses, improve productivity and reduce input costs.

“The NFU has been working closely with Defra on the development of the scheme and will continue to do so to ensure as many farmers as possible are able to access this type of funding support.

"It’s vital that future farming schemes enable farmers to invest in new technology and infrastructure to tackle potential pollution issues and crucially improve water and air quality, as part of protecting the environment alongside producing sustainable climate-friendly food.

“I would encourage farmers to look at what’s on offer with this scheme, consider the requirements for their farm, and make their applications as quickly as possible and, if accepted, give themselves as much time as possible to make the necessary planning and building arrangements.”