Applications are now open for the Tweed Shire Council’s Sustainable Agriculture Small Grant Program to assist farmers to implement best land management practices that benefit the farm, community and the environment.
Farmers are encouraged to bring forward project ideas to manage environmental problems or improve the health and productivity of their land.
Program Objectives
The objectives of the Sustainable Agriculture Small Grants Program are to work with primary producers to:
Support and promote the adoption of improved land management practices.
Build capacity in natural resource management and sustainable agriculture.
Increase biodiversity, improve water quality and soil health on farms.
Funding Information
A limited number of grants of up to $4,000 (GST inclusive) are available for eligible activities each financial year.
Grants will be awarded through a merit based competitive process. All funded projects are to be completed by the end of the financial year in which they are awarded.
Eligible Activities
Some examples of eligible activities include:
Support for installation of fencing to address land degradation and improve water quality, livestock health and biodiversity such as:
Internal fencing to support rotational grazing practices or restrict livestock to restore degraded areas.
Cattle exclusion fencing of high biodiversity value areas.
Cattle exclusion fencing of water bodies.
Revegetation of agricultural drains, paddocks (for windbreaks and paddock trees), constructed wetlands and dams with local native species.
Weed control (particularly for control of problem agricultural weeds) in high biodiversity value areas of the farm.
Support to produce and use environmentally friendly soil amendments such as compost and biochar by utilising farm waste and other local waste products.
Release of beneficial organisms such as dung beetles, predatory insects or other biological controls in combination with cessation or reduced reliance on chemical controls to ensure the survival of beneficials.
Assistance controlling foxes and feral cats in high priority areas.
Installation of artificial hollows and nest boxes for beneficial predators and native fauna i.e. nest boxes for rodent predators in tree crops and orchards.
Limited earthworks in combination with revegetation to address soil erosion and runoff issues. The costs of such activities would need to be largely borne by the landholder.
Workshops or training activities that build natural resource management capacity for groups of farmers.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible you must:
Be a landholder, a group of landholders, a farmer group or association that actively farms Rural (RU1, RU2) or Large Lot Residential (R5) land in the Tweed Local Government Area. If you are not the landholder, you must have consent from the landholder and/or relevant authority for project works.
Meet at least one of the Program objectives.
Complete all sections of the Application Form.
Ensure you have supplied quotes for ALL goods and services that you are seeking funding for. A minimum of two written quotes for goods or services above $3,000 is required. Quotes need to be addressed to Tweed Shire Council and cannot exceed $4,000 in total.
Be able to provide a cash and/or in-kind contribution equal to or greater than the value of funds requested.
Be willing to work with Council staff in the delivery of the project.
Commit to delivering the project and improving farming practices beyond the life of the grant.
Criteria
The following assessment criteria will be used to determine a project’s suitability for funding and overall ranking relative to other applications.
Potential and scale of environmental benefits arising from the activity.
Extent to which the project will meet one or more of the program objectives.
Extent to which the project enables transfer of knowledge and lessons learned to other farmers.
Feasibility of the project, and the extent to which the project will deliver clear, measurable outcomes.
Clearly defined and achievable project timeframe.
Risks to project delivery have been identified and appropriate risk management measures have been outlined.
Value for money and the level of cash and/or in-kind contribution.
