More than 800 farm business in Wales have applied for a share of over £20 million from two support schemes.

In April, The Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, confirmed two funding schemes to support investment in farm infrastructure - The Nutrient Management Investment Scheme and the Small Grants (Yard Coverings scheme).

The aim of the schemes is will help to improve soil, air and water quality, build resilience to the potential impact of climate change and reach compliance with the Water Resources Regulations.

Both schemes are designed to enable farmers to improve slurry management by providing support for additional storage capacity and/or prevent rainwater entering slurry stores to reduce storage capacity requirement.

The support was increased to provide a maximum 50 per cent contribution towards certain project costs.

A high number of applications were received for infrastructure support, the Welsh Government has said. Grant Awards with a value of £1.06m have already been accepted under the Yard Coverings scheme and more than 700 Expressions of Interest have been received for the Nutrient Management Investment scheme.

All eligible applicants to the Nutrient Management Investment Scheme are now being invited to progress to the next stage and will need to submit their full applications by December 9 2024.

The Deputy First Minister said: “I’m very pleased there has been such a high level of interest in these schemes with more than 800 farm businesses applying for support. This will enable them to build resilience to extreme weather conditions - and help to improve water quality in our rivers and their tributaries.

“Public awareness of the state of our rivers has never been higher. This puts the agricultural sector in a powerful position to help improve the quality of our river environment.

“Farmers, landowners and agricultural businesses are at the forefront of this effort, and so it’s essential that we give them the support to develop sustainable practices and innovative solutions.”

Mr Irranca-Davies said that wet weather has negatively affected farming recently, underscoring the need for long-term planning and investment.

“Over the past year we have seen the impact the wet weather has had on agriculture - which also shows the importance of investing in resilience,” he said.

“Our future generations will be farming in much more challenging conditions. We must act today to adapt and respond to these challenges - taking steps to build resilience to the potential impacts of climate change.

“I would encourage all those who have been selected to submit their full applications and take full advantage of the funding that’s available.”

The Welsh Conservatives have welcomed the news, but said that support for farmers could still go further.

James Evans, Welsh Conservative Shadow Rural Affairs Minister and MS for Brecon and Radnorshire said: “This is a step in the right direction from the Welsh Government and the funding for on-farm improvements will be welcomed by farmers across Wales, although it could go further.

“It's a welcome change that the Cabinet Secretary appears to be listening to the industry. He should now focus on working collaboratively across the Senedd as well as with the industry to ensure the new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) supports our farmers, not hinders them.”

“The Welsh Conservatives will never take farmers for granted and would make sure we have a scheme that works for our farmers, not against them and safeguards the future of the industry,” added Mr Evans.

Further details on the schemes, as well as other rural grants and payments, can be found on the Welsh Government website at: www.gov.wales/rural-grants-payments