The Scottish Government’s Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) aims to protect and improve the natural environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting sustainable farming and land use – has just been launched and precision farming tools are included.

This forms part of the Agricultural Transformation Programme announced in February, which allocated £40m of initial funding to support the sector’s contribution to meeting Scotland’s climate change ambitions.

But this £10m package allows farmers to purchase specific equipment up to a total value of £20,000 per farming business from a pre-determined list through the Rural Payments and Services Division, which will be managing the scheme.

Savills’ food and farming consultant, Hamish Logan, has welcome the initiative: “The initiative will be a boost to farmers who are keen to harness new technologies in order to farm more efficiently and sustainably. The list of items eligible for financial support is extensive but specific and includes items for livestock, precision and general farming for example technology to pre heat water for existing hot water systems, to analyse milk in real time and to measure nitrogen levels in crops.

“Depending on the take-up among farmers, the scheme has the potential to significantly modernise Scottish farming techniques.”

The SACGS grant scheme will provide farmers with funding of 50% (60% in Highlands and Islands) of the item. Each piece of equipment claimed for will be allocated a certain number of ‘green points’ and these will be scored against other applications to determine how much greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

“If the business has completed a carbon audit and/or a nutrient management plan, and/or a veterinary health plan before March 1, 2020, but after March 1, 2017, this will provide bonus ‘green points’ to the application. If positive action has been taken from these reports, further bonus points may be offered,” he pointed out.

Businesses will need to apply through an electronic form and there will be no requirement to submit estimates with the application. However, once the grant has been approved, copies of invoices and bank statements will be required to be submitted with the capital claim form, along with any carbon audits, nutrient management plans or veterinary health plans that have been completed.

The scheme also covers livestock equipment and general farm tools, but specific items classed as Precision Farming tools included in the list are:

Grassland sward lifters – standard value £8000

Machine must have cutting disc in front of each leg. Minimum three legs with adjustable depth control (at least to 300mm) on the legs and a packing roller to leave a consolidated level finish. Shearbolt or hydraulic reset.

Pasture plate meter (handheld) – £550

A hand-held device to assess grass cover by measuring total height and the number of measures. Must have the capability of storing separate paddocks and for the data to be downloaded to a computer.

Pasture plate meter (trailed) – £ 2680

A trailed device to assess grass cover by measuring total height and the number of measures, again it must have the capability of storing separate paddocks and for the data to be downloaded to a computer.

GPS guidance – £1800

System using light bar and screen to aid guidance, able to create, recognise and load field boundary information; provide field boundary measurements. It must have a minimum capability of straight and curved guidance modes and with pass to pass accuracy of sub 1m.

GPS guidance on old tractor, with bolt on motor – £2600

Auto-steer system linked to GPS to be used on older tractors. Must include electric, hands-free, automated steering system with easy installation onto steering wheel or column.

GPS guidance for old tractor with replacement steering wheel and motor – £3800

To enable auto steering to be used on older tractors, with electric, hands-free, automated steering system with installation onto steering wheel.

GPS guidance with integration of hydraulic steering and ISOBUS implement control – £11,000

A standalone GPS unit with automatic field boundary measurement and field recognition. Must have a minimum capability of straight and curved guidance and be capable of linking to implement control and auto steer. Sub 20cm accuracy with RTK guidance – only eligible as retrofit.

Yield monitoring – £5000

Electronic device to connect to a combine or harvester to monitor crop yield during harvest, to provide information on harvesting rate, with total and partial area (field) yield of crop. Only eligible as retrofit.

Variable rate controller, sprayers and fertiliser spreaders – £2000

An electronic device to connect to an existing sprayer or fertiliser spreader for the purposes of variable rate application. Eligible as a retrofit item.

Flow rate monitoring of slurry – £4200

Slurry flow meter, cab display/controller must be able to be linked to GPS to provide accurate record of slurry application and be able to provide record of slurry applied by volume. Eligible as a retrofit.

Measuring N levels in crops using light reflectance – £22,500

Tractor mounted sensor to determine N status to enable real time variable rate fertiliser application. Include sensor and linkage to variable control on spreader. Eligible as a retrofit.

Hand held device for measuring N levels in crops using light reflectance – £395

Sensor instantly measures and logs chlorophyll content or ‘greenness’ of plants to determine the N status of the crop using light reflectance. Enables increased accuracy for fertiliser application to be calculated for grassland. Eligible as retrofit.

Chlorophyll meter – £1557

Hand held device to instantly measures and logs chlorophyll content of individual plant leaves to assist in detecting yield-limiting deficiencies or costly over fertilising.

Trailing shoe slurry system including macerators – £18,165

Trailing shoe slurry applicator, minimum 6m working width to fit to slurry tanker or attach to flexible pipe/umbilical system. Includes pipework, stone traps, lines, full length sight glass.

Dribble bar including macerators – £11,500

Applicator, minimum 6m working width, to fit to slurry tanker or flexible pipe/umbilical system.

Shallow injection systems including macerators – £24,666.67

System to inject slurry into soil surface and to fit to slurry tanker or attach to flexible pipe/umbilical system. Minimum working width 6m and maximum working width 7.5m.