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How could £10,000 help improve your farm?
Your local agricultural adviser can help © Severn Trent Water The Severn Trent suite of farmer grants and support is part of its ongoing commitment to protect our plant, soil, biodiversity and water environments.
With the biggest grant scheme on offer being the Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS).
STEPS provides a wide range of options for farmers looking to invest in infrastructure and land management changes that benefit both the environment and productivity.
Watercourse fencing funded by the STEPS scheme © Severn Trent Water
Farmers can apply for up to £10,000 of match funding to help facilitate this work, from a pre-defined list of funding options.
To date, STEPS funding has helped with projects ranging from cover crops, stock fencing and covered muck stores, to pesticide wash-down areas and biobeds. Severn Trent also considers items that aren’t listed if they are innovative, support production and the wider goals of the programme. So, if you have a great idea, then you can apply for this under the innovation option.
The best place to start, and for the greatest chance of successful application, is to get in touch with your local agricultural adviser, who can give you support and guidance to get started.
The grant application window is open until the 31st January 2022.
Apply today:
- Find out if you’re eligible using our priority catchment map www.stwater.co.uk/steps
- Speak to your local agricultural adviser to find the priority options for your catchment
- Visit www.stwater.co.uk/steps to apply
Priority items:
Choosing a priority item in your catchment will give your application the best chance of success. However, depending on where you farm, items will be different. The list below outlines some of the priority items in different catchment areas:
Pesticide catchment areas:
- Pesticide washdown areas, including roofing
- Grass margins
- Biobeds and biofilters
- Alternative weed management in grassland fields
- Precision pesticide application equipment
Nitrate catchment areas:
- Cover crops including undersowing maize
- Grass margins
Cryptosporidium catchment areas:
- Livestock fencing along watercourses
- Hard bases for drinking troughs
- Roofed livestock handling and manure storage areas
- Constructed wetlands
Provided by
Severn Trent is the UK’s second biggest water company. It serves 4.1m homes and business customers in and around the Midlands. Its region stretches from the Welsh borders to Rutland and from the outskirts of Sheffield south to the Bristol Channel and east to the Humber.
Catchment management is a key part of Severn Trent’s environmental work and involves working with farmers, landowners, businesses and charities to use and influence water in an environmentally friendly way to protect water quality at the source, rather than rely on treatment measures later in the process to becoming drinking water.
For more information see our website Severn Trent Water