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Farmers Urged To Buy Energy Efficient Equipment

Automatic tank gauging is an essential piece of equipment for any tank storage specialists world-wide.

Investing in the best possible equipment is really important for any business that wants to expand or even just secure its future, and most recently farmers have been urged to use tax breaks to invest in theirs.

There are specific tax breaks available for farmers to get better more energy efficient technology for their work, but there is fairly low uptake of this.

The Energy Technology List was launched in 2014 but updated advice has led to the National Farmers Union and Farm Energy Centre starting a new campaign to get farmers to take up the tax breaks.

The Energy Technology List provides information about which equipment qualifies for tax relief including boilers, electric motors, heaters and lighting. The scheme allows 100 per cent of the cost to be written off against taxes in a single year.

Farm Energy Centre senior consultant Jon Swain said: “Simple measures such as installing pipe insulation to the required standard or installation of variable speed drives have a wide range of applications across the agricultural industry, dairy through to horticulture and beyond, and can be installed in an appropriate manner to the business need,” he said.

The National Farmers Union has called for the scheme to be better promoted to farmers and made easier to understand for customers.

It also needs to be kept more up-to-date as new machinery and equipment and improved energy efficiency technology is made available.