Menu

Know How / Payments, schemes and grants

Support payments are a vital income stream for almost every farm business – whether they are delivered through the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) or one of a range of agri-environment schemes.

This page offers the latest news on the main schemes operating across each of the devolved regions and also highlights other opportunities for farmers to access grant funds.

Key areas of focus:

  • Basic Payment Scheme developments
  • Agri-environment grant schemes
  • Grants to support equipment purchases
  • Rural development grant funding
  • Bursaries and scholarships

Case studies

See all

CROP MANAGEMENT

How Wilts estate's 'practical regen' approach supports yields

Covering 1,800ha within the Cranbourne Chase National Landscape, a family-owned estate is aiming to increase biodiversity without compromising yields or profits. The productive chalk downland farm is home to various…

DAIRY

Grant brings 'excellent' improvements to youngstock handling

For his youngstock, spring block-calver Rupert Major installed an “excellent” curved handling facility instead of an “average” one to meet the requirements for Defra funding two years ago. Farmers Weekly…

ARABLE

Arable Insights farmers weigh up a future without subsidy

This month, our Arable Insights farmers are considering all the options as they ponder the future of farming. With government support for both food production and nature recovery paused in…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why one Essex arable farm faces difficult decisions in 2025

Essex farmer Tom Streeter admits that he and his brother Will have some difficult decisions to make about the future of the family farming business, having looked at the details…

ARABLE

How SFI actions closely align with Herefordshire mixed farm

Chris Greenaway, farm manager at Garnstone Farms in Herefordshire is advising farmers to make the most of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), given the accelerated reduction in Basic Payment Scheme…

ARABLE

What the Budget means for new Arable Insights farmer panel

As farmers head to Westminster to protest at Budget measures affecting their businesses, including the unwelcome changes to inheritance tax, we look at the practical implications of the new regime…

Practical advice

See all

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Stacking income: What is it and how to do it on farm

Volatile prices and weather extremes have added risk and uncertainty to farm businesses while dwindling government support has caused a shortfall between pre- and post-Brexit incomes. To make up that…

SLURRY AND MANURE MANAGEMENT

Support for muck and slurry management: What’s on offer?

Tackling pollution from agriculture is a priority for governments in all four UK countries. As a result, there is growing pressure on farmers to get better at managing their slurry…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

R&D tax relief - how to avoid the common pitfalls

Farming businesses set up as limited companies have been strongly encouraged over the past decade to claim research and development (R&D) tax relief, but the bar to qualify has now…

GRANTS

Grant funding for farm kit and research - how it works

Grants open next week for equipment, technology and small infrastructure to boost productivity, improve slurry management and enhance animal health and welfare.  The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) will…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Supply chain funding: What's on offer for regen farming

While both private and public funding have been available, the recent pausing of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and capital grants by the government is putting the onus on supply…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Advice on preparing early for new grant funding applications

A new round of standalone Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants 2025-26 will open this summer worth £45m and funding a significant proportion of the cost of a wide range of…

BPS calculator

BPS online calculator

Direct Payments in England will be phased out from 2021 to 2027 and details of the percentage reductions have now been released by Defra. Download this calculator, provided by Albert Goodman, to see how this affects you.

Download

Insights

See all

BUSINESS

How complex natural capital may provide local opportunities

The term natural capital covers a wide range of benefits provided by the natural environment, such as clean air and water, carbon-capturing plants and practices, alongside healthy soils. There are…

FARM POLICY

Post-Brexit farm support - how is Defra spending the money?

One of the reasons many farmers voted for Brexit in 2016 was because they were so fed up with Brussels red tape. Our survey at the time, run in the…

NEWS

Cautious welcome for SFS but BPS reduction will bite

The Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), launched a week before the Royal Welsh Show, was cautiously welcomed, but farming leaders warned that next year’s 40% Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) cut will…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

New £150m capital grant scheme – act quickly to secure funds

The sudden removal of capital grants last autumn for farmers in England – without the promised six-weeks’ notice –  was just one of a number of shocks farmers have had…

FARM POLICY

How the Ffermio Bro agri-environment scheme is bedding in

The Welsh government’s agri-environmental scheme for its designated landscapes and national parks – called Ffermio Bro – has started in earnest since its launch in April. Aiming to encourage nature-friendly…

FARM POLICY

SFS uptake likely to hinge on payment rates

Farming unions in Wales have reiterated concerns over payment rates and levels of practicality of the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), due to be finalised next week. The scheme, including details…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

How private cash is funding environmental measures

A system to pay for nature-based measures to address shared challenges along the supply chain is benefiting both funders and farmers in a wide range of landscapes. Landscape Enterprise Networks…

ARABLE

Getting the most from on-farm ponds for wildlife

Often one of the most neglected on-farm habitats, ponds can really have an impact on wildlife considering the small area they occupy. Providing they remain unpolluted, ponds are refuges for…

BEEF

Integrated beef schemes: What’s available and how they work

Dairy beef made up 37% of GB prime cattle slaughter, up from 28% in 2019, and integrated beef schemes between dairy farmers, beef producers and retailers/processors are on the increase.…

ELM

Sustainable Farming Incentive: Where next for farmers?

The sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to new applications has left the farming industry in England wondering what the future holds for agri-environment schemes. Defra’s decision, which…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

NI Sustainable Agriculture Programme – all you need to know

Farmers in all four UK countries are under pressure from their respective governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but livestock producers in Northern Ireland (NI) are perhaps shouldering the greatest…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Short window left for Welsh and NI entitlement trades

Farmers in Northern Ireland (NI) and Wales have just over a month to transfer any entitlements ahead of the 15 May deadline. The entitlements market in NI is expected to…