£10m extra funding for livestock farmers to replace old cattle sheds

Wed 02 Aug 2023

The UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is providing an additional £10m in funding to livestock farmers in England to build new, upgrade, or replace existing calf housing buildings to deliver health and welfare benefits for their calves.

The funding aims to replace aging cattle sheds with state-of-the-art, modern facilities and will be allocated through the Animal Health and Welfare Infrastructure Grant.

Awards will range from £15,000 to £500,000, with priority given to new and upgraded calf housing.

Successful applicants may receive funding for various building types, and grants will need to be co-financed by the farmer. Examples of the type of building include A-frame buildings to house dairy calves from birth to weaning, or a mono-pitch building on a beef unit to house three- to six-month-old calves.

The grant will also allow farmers to access funding for rooftop solar panels on calf housing buildings, in line with a commitment made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Farm to Fork Summit, held at Downing Street in May.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) welcomed the funding as farmers face increasing financial pressures and this will allow them to improve thermal insulation and provide low-cost energy for calf housing.

If you’re a livestock farmer and would like to explore the possibility of grant funding for building improvements, please do not hesitate to contact please do not hesitate to contact our expert Ella Redrup on 01507 350517. We are always happy to help.