Farming grant funding in England: A comprehensive guide
© Tim Scrivener A plethora of government grants and support payments is available for farm businesses in 2024.
Charlie Reeve discovers what’s up for grabs from Defra and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) in England, and when to apply.
Slurry Management Grant
What is it? Funding for farm businesses for specific items such as slurry separators, dribble bars and shallow injection systems. This is one of three smaller grants which have been made available through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF).
How much is available? £1,000 to £50,000, covering up to 60% of costs.
When to apply: Applications are open now with a deadline of 17 April 2024 for the current application window. Further application windows are due to open later in the year.
Animal Health and Welfare Grant
What is it? Also part of the FETF, this grant covers a range of farming equipment such as mobile sheep and cattle handling systems, electric fencing, crushes, sheeted gates and boot disinfectant systems.
Available for beef, dairy, sheep, pig and poultry (laying and broiler) farms.
How much is available? £1,000 to £25,000, covering up to 50% of costs.
When to apply: The current application window is open between 20 March and 1 May 2024. Further application windows are due to open later in 2024.
Improving Productivity Grant
What is it? Funding for items to improve on-farm productivity, with grants available for farmers, horticulturalists and forestry businesses as part of the FETF.
Eligible items include direct drills, liquid fertiliser applicators, tyre inflation systems, robotic silage pushers and weed wipers.
How much is available? From £1,000 up to a maximum of £50,000, covering either 50% or 60% of costs.
When to apply: Applications are open now with a deadline of 17 April 2024 for the current application window, with further application windows due to open later in 2024.
SFI Annual Health and Welfare Review
What is it? Funding towards an on-farm vet visit to help improve animal productivity and welfare, and reduce endemic diseases. In order to be eligible, farm businesses should have at least 11 beef or dairy cattle, 21 sheep or 51 pigs.
How much is available? Funding is provided for each livestock type, with £684 available for a pig review, £436 for a sheep review, £522 for a beef cattle review, and £372 for a dairy review.
When to apply: Applications are currently open and a vet visit should be arranged to take place within six months of the funding being approved.
Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare
What is it? A new fund to replace or refurbish poultry housing in order to improve bird welfare. Additional funding will also be available for the installation of rooftop solar panels.
How much is available? Defra will confirm grant values later in the year.
When to apply: An online checker is due to open in spring/summer 2024.
Cattle Housing for Health and Welfare
What is it? Funding for farm businesses to upgrade existing cattle sheds for animals at least six months old.
How much is available? Defra to confirm later in the year.
When to apply: Autumn 2024.
© A-Consult
Slurry Infrastructure Grant
What is it? Funding for beef, dairy and pig farmers to invest in slurry stores and covers with capacity for six to eight months’ worth of slurry, depending on type of enterprise.
How much is available? £25,000 to £250,000, covering up to 50% of costs.
When to apply: The initial online checker for the second round of the grant closed on 17 January 2024, with the deadline for submitting full applications being 30 September 2024. Full applications from Round One need to be submitted by 28 June 2024.
Defra has confirmed there will be another opportunity to apply later in the year.
Water Management Grant
What is it? A grant for arable and horticultural businesses wanting to invest in water application, water storage, and crop irrigation. The fund covers a range of irrigation equipment and reservoir construction costs.
How much is available? £35,000 to £500,000, covering up to 40% of costs.
When to apply: The RPA’s online checker closed in July last year for the second round of the grant, with full applications due to be submitted by October 2024.
Round Three of the grant is expected to open later this year.
Improving Farm Productivity Grant
What is it? This grant is for farmers and horticulturists and covers two areas. The first is a grant towards robotics, automated equipment and systems, and the second is a grant for solar equipment.
How much is available? Between £25,000 and £500,000 is available for robotic and automated equipment, covering up to 50% of costs.
Grants of between £15,000 and £100,000 are on offer for solar equipment, covering up to 25% of costs.
When to apply: The eligibility checker for the second round closed on 21 March 2024 and the RPA is currently reviewing applications. Further rounds of funding may be made available in the future.
Adding Value Grant
What is it? Grants towards buildings, machinery or equipment that can help add value to agricultural products once they have been reared or harvested.
How much is available? Grants of between £25,000 and £300,000, covering up to 40% of costs.
When to apply: Applications for the current round closed on 31 January 2024.
© Tim Scrivener
English Woodland Creation Offer and Planning Grant
What is it? Funding for landowners and farmers to plant and develop woodland on sites covering at least 1ha.
How much is available? A basic grant of up to £10,200/ha to cover the cost of planting trees, plus stackable payments worth up to an additional £12,700/ha. A £400/ha annual maintenance payment is also available each year for 15 years.
A planning grant is offered for projects covering a minimum area of at least 5ha, with £1,500 provided for completing a Stage One checklist.
A further £150/ha is then available, minus the initial £1,500 payment, with a funding cap of £30,500 for each project.
When to apply: Open for application all year round.
Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants
What is it? Funding provided to landowners for delivering three-year agreements that provide environmental benefits such as helping to improve air and water quality, flood management and tree planting. It is made up of 70 different items.
How much is available? Payments vary between each of the different items available and range from £11.95 for a small wildlife box to £2,760 for an automatic slurry scraper in 2024.
When to apply: Applications opened on 3 January 2024 and will remain open all year.
Farming Innovation Programme
Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme provides investment for businesses which are working to make technological advances to support productivity and sustainability in agriculture.
Funding options vary between 25% and 70% of project costs depending on project type and scale.
Research Starter
This competition is specifically for farmers, growers and foresters with an idea to improve farming that they wish to take forward.
It is for projects costing between £28,000 and £56,000.
Round Four of the competition closed on 14 February.
Large R&D Partnerships
A share of £7.8m was made available for businesses developing new products which can support the farming sector.
It was allocated for businesses with total project costs of between £3m and £5m.
Entries for Round Three of the project closed on 13 March.
Small R&D Partnerships
A similar competition is in place for businesses with project costs of between £1m and £3m, with the fourth round due to open in autumn 2024.
Farming Futures R&D – nutrient management
A competition for a share of £25m has been made available for UK businesses with a focus on nutrient management.
It will run across two rounds with Round One opening this spring and Round Two set to open in the autumn.
Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (Adopt)
Later this summer, potential funding for farmers to carry out practical research and on-farm trials will be made available to help accelerate projects.
A total of £45m has been allocated for these types of projects over the next five years.
Feasibility Studies (round four)
In the autumn, a grant providing funding for testing the feasibility of larger scale projects will be made available, with businesses able to apply for a share of £4.8m.
Farming Futures R&D – Net Zero Farming
A grant funding competition specifically related to helping achieving net zero in agriculture is also due to be introduced this autumn with a share of £12.5m on offer.
Payments and support schemes
Other support is being targeted through ongoing payment schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship, Landscape Recovery, and Farming in Protected Landscapes.
Free consultancy advice for farm businesses is also available through the Farming Resilience Fund.
Further guidance on eligibility and funding for each of the grants can be found on the government website.
Additional grants from other organisations such as the Royal Countryside Fund and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution are also available to help support farm businesses.
Scotland
In Scotland, a single application form can be used to apply for a range of funding including:
- Basic Payment Scheme
- Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
- Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme
- Less Favoured Area Support Scheme
- Agri-Environment Climate Scheme
- Forestry Grant Scheme
- Rural Development Contracts.
The single application form needs to be submitted by 15 May 2024.
Funding for consultancy advice for farm businesses in Scotland is available through the integrated land management plan. Up to £1,200 is available which covers 80% of the cost for established farm businesses and 100% for businesses which have started in the last five years.
Welsh scheme dates |
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Scheme |
Opening date |
Closing date |
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Woodland Creation Planning Scheme |
28 February 2022 |
TBC |
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Food Business Accelerator Scheme |
TBC |
TBC |
|
Small Grants – Woodland Creation |
4 March 2024 |
19 April 2024 |
|
Woodland Creation Grant |
4 March 2024 |
22 November 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Efficiency |
6 March 2024 |
16 April 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Woodland Creation |
20 May 2024 |
20 June 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Environment |
20 May 2024 |
28 June 2024 |
|
Growing for the Environment (Autumn Sowing) |
3 June 2024 |
12 July 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Woodland Creation |
22 July 2024 |
30 August 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Environment |
12 August 2024 |
20 September 2024 |
|
Small Grants – Woodland Creation |
3 February 2025 |
14 March 2025 |
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Source: Welsh government |
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