For farmers seeking a reputable and professional farm advisory firm to assist with TAMS (farm grant) applications, Carroll Consultancy delivers all-encompassing assistance from design stage, planning permission / exemption through to grant application and payment. We touched base with MD Breian Carroll to find out more.
For many farmers, the process of securing the grants they are entitled to can be a daunting, seemingly-impossible task. But Carroll Consultancy has introduced a new service that simplified the process, takes all the pressure and pain away from the farmer and allows him / her to concentrate on what he / she does best: farming!
Headquartered in Swinford, County Mayo, Carroll Consultancy is the only firm in the region that completes the entire process from design and planning permission of grant payment under TAMS (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme) by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Grant aid is available under the following schemes: Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme; Dairy Equipment Scheme; Organic Capital Investment Scheme; Low Emissions Slurry Spreading Equipment Scheme; Animal Welfare Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme; and Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme.
The stages of Carroll Consultancy’s professional service offered to clients include: Farmyard Design and Assessment; Planning Permission or Planning Exemption; Application to TAMS for grant aid; and Application for TAMS Payment.
Farmers have the option of remaining with Carroll Consultancy for all other farm advisory work or can, if they prefer, avail of their services exclusively for this unique, once-off project. An estimated cost of proposals is provided within seven days of the farm visit and, in keeping with the Carroll Consultancy modus operandi, every possible step is taken to make life as straightforward, uncomplicated and stress-free as possible for the client.
“We are delighted to be able to provide this service to farmers and they are happy to have the option of staying with their existing advisors – be that Teagasc or private – and move on to us for the TAMS service alone,” notes founder / managing director Breian Carroll. “We visit the farm, assess it and determine the options for the farmer of their design and opportunities to avail of grant aid under TAMS. We will then stay with the farmer through every step of the process until the grant payment is made.”
Needless to say, this service has seen Carroll Consultancy broaden its horizons beyond its core catchment area of Connacht, with TAMS applications and procurement assistance provided to farmers into the midlands and beyond, as far afield as North Tipperary, Offaly, Kildare, Longford and Dublin. The firm has a strong presence on social media and its busy Twitter and Facebook feeds are helping spread word of the many services provided.
“We have committed and invested a lot into this new service and have put a great deal of thought and detail into it,” Breian continues. “We’re providing a service that other agricultural advisors don’t. We engage with the farmer and look after them from a greenfield site through until the grant has been received. The farmer doesn’t have to deal with engineers or other advisors. We can get planning permission for a new shed or parlour very quickly, usually within a couple of weeks.”
While some other agri advisors prefer to steer clear of TAMS, Carroll Consultancy have in contrast become experts in this particular field – and a meticulous service is provided. “We look after everything that’s covered by TAMS, including slurry equipment for farmers and contractors, sheep fencing, sheds for sheep and cattle, parlours for dairy farms, etc.
“We have a team of four specialists working on providing this service and each of us has an input into every application. Two of us will visit the farm and, including farmers, there could be up to five of us looking at the design and making sure everything comes up to Department spec and satisfaction of the customer,” says Breian. “We will visit the sites as many times as is required and will invest the necessary work to get the exact design that suits the specific needs of the project so that the structure is viable long-term. For example, we recently spent three weeks on the design stage of a dairy farm in Leitrim to make absolutely sure that the farmer was getting the best structure possible to fit his precise needs in the long term.
“Furthermore, if we visit a farm and the farmer has an outline of what shed or structure he wants, we can also provide a costing on that within seven days, using Department of Agriculture reference costs. This gives the farmer clarity as they work out what they will get grant-aided for and deduce what the work is going to cost out of their own pocket. They can then decide whether to proceed as planned or if they want to upgrade or re-budget.”
A nitrates assessment service is also provided whereby Carroll Consultancy will measure the storage capacity of all tanks and structures in the farmyard and advise the farmer whether he is compliant with the new nitrates directives or needs to build additional tanks for more storage. They can subsequently help the farmer through the planning permission and grant application / attainment steps.
The seven-strong Carroll Consultancy team is fronted by: Breián Carroll B.Agr.Sc, MACA: Managing Director and Agricultural Consultant with 20 years industry experience; Jackie Duggan, Agricultural Technician, who retired in recent years from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, where she was a former District Superintendent, and has over 25 years of farm grant experience; Andrew Kilduff, B.Agr.Sc., Agricultural Consultant and Cathal Higgins, B.Agr.Sc., Agricultural Consultants with responsibility for farmyard design, planning permission and TAMS applications.
Breián Carroll is Managing Director and Senior Agronomist in the firm. He has a Master in Business Practice and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science Degree from University College Dublin and a Certificate in Auctioneering and Estate Agency from Athlone Institute of Technology. He served as President of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) in July 2007 for a three-year period and was appointed in September 2010 to the position of General Secretary of the ACA, remaining in the position for two years.
Breian is a recognised agricultural consultant both within and outside the sector and is a past board member of the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee with the Health and Safety Authority and a current member of the Skillnets Funding Steering Committee with the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME). He was a member of the final judging panel for the FBD Young Farmer of the Year awards in 2009 and 2017 and was a member of the judging panel for the Agri-Business Awards 2015, 2016 and 2017.
The full range of services provided by Carroll Consultancy comprises Agricultural and Environmental Consultancy, Planning Permission and Farm Grant, Agricultural Litigation and Loss Reporting, Professional Management Consultancy services for Agri – Businesses, Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) and Environmental Impact Statements, Farm and Property Valuations.
This includes everything from Basic Payment Scheme applications, Farm partnership and succession, Herd number and National Reserve / Young Farmer Scheme applications, Knowledge Transfer Discussion Groups, and Financial projections and budgets for your farm, for bank loan applications to Farm Succession advice and Expert Witness / Agri Litigation.
Carroll Consultancy provides a high-quality professional service in the areas of Agricultural, the Environmental and agri-business management consultancy. It is an approved Farm Advisory System advisory firm with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, assisting farmers with all matters on EU and national farm schemes including their obligations with Cross Compliance and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions.
The firm has also become a specialist in other consultancy areas including management consultancy for the agri-business sector. Sister firm Carroll Auctioneering, meanwhile, provides expert advice in relation to land sales, transfer and inheritance of land, property valuations and sale of farm entitlements.
The bottom line is what counts most for farmers and Carroll Consultancy offers services that can save them money. “Ultimately, we’re here to find cheaper solutions that meet their specific requirements,” Breian concludes.
Carroll Consultancy,
Main Street,
Swinford,
County. Mayo.
Tel: 094 9253742
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.carrollconsultancy.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 5, August 2018
