Credit: David S
In this post, we'll give you a summary of the grants to look out for this year.
The information published in this post is correct at the time of publication but please note that blog posts do go out of date. For the definitive, up-to-date list of all farming payments and guidance in England, bookmark Funding for Farmers and Land Managers on GOV.UK. The page contains both our grants and our ongoing payments. It also includes Countryside Stewardship grants and it is updated regularly.
SFI annual health and welfare review
Summary:
Farmers who keep cattle, sheep and pigs can get funding to pay for a vet to visit their farm and carry out a health and welfare review of their livestock. To be eligible to apply, you must have one of the following:
- 11 or more beef cattle
- 11 or more dairy cattle
- 21 or more sheep
- 51 or more pigs
How much you can apply for:
- £684 for a pig review
- £436 for a sheep review
- £522 for a beef cattle review
- £372 for a dairy cattle review
Dates to note:
You can apply now.
Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare
Summary:
The grant will fund laying hen and pullet farmers to refurbish or replace (with new) existing laying hen and pullet housing. This will include specific funding to retrofit verandas onto existing buildings. The grant aims to improve poultry health and welfare and support innovation, productivity and environmental sustainability. Funding will also be available for installing rooftop solar panels on funded housing.
How much you can apply for:
To be confirmed. We'll publish a post as soon as the guidance for this grant is available.
Dates to note:
The online checker (the first step to apply) will open in spring-summer 2024.
Cattle Housing for Health and Welfare
Summary:
The grant will fund upgrades to housing for cattle aged 6 months+, to improve cattle health and welfare and support innovation, productivity and environmental sustainability.
How much you can apply for:
To be confirmed. We'll blog as soon as we publish the guidance for the grant.
Dates to note:
The online checker (the first step to apply) will open in autumn 2024.
Grant to improve productivity
Summary:
This grant is offered through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024. It provides smaller value grants towards the cost of a prescribed list of items. This supports the purchase of specific equipment, technology, and small infrastructure investments aimed at making an immediate difference to farm performance, including investments that will help farmers use less inputs, reduce emissions, and cut waste.
How much you can apply for:
You can apply for a grant between £1,000 and £50,000 towards productivity equipment.
Dates to note:
You can apply now. The deadline is 17 April. There are multiple application windows.
Grant to improve animal health and welfare
Summary:
This grant is offered through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024. It provides smaller value grants towards the cost of a prescribed list of items. These grants will go towards the cost of items on a list which improve the health and welfare of livestock.
How much you can apply for:
You can apply for a grant between £1,000 and £25,000
Dates to note:
We will blog when it is time to apply. There are multiple application windows.
Grant to improve slurry management
Summary:
This grant is offered through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024. It provides smaller value grants towards the cost of a prescribed list of items to help farmers manage their slurry better and reduce pollution of water and air.
How much you can apply for:
You can apply for a grant between £1,000 and £50,000.
Dates to note:
You can apply now. The deadline to apply is 17 April. There are multiple application windows.
Improving Farm Productivity grant (round 2)
Summary:
This grant is for innovative farming equipment that increases productivity and improves the environment.
How much you can apply for:
£25,00-£500,000 robotic and automated equipment and systems (50% intervention rate)
£15,000-£100,000 solar equipment (25% intervention rate)
£500,000 is the maximum offer.
Dates to note:
You can apply now. The first stage of the application process, the online checker, is now open to make an initial online application. The checker will close for applications at 11:59pm on 21 March 2024.
Slurry Infrastructure grant
Summary:
The Slurry Infrastructure grant is designed to help you improve or expand your slurry storage capacity.
How much you can apply for:
Between £25,000 and £250,000.
Dates to note:
The online checker for Round 2 (the first step to apply) closed on 17 January 2024. There will be another opportunity to apply later this year.
Water management grant
Summary:
This grant is for capital items which improve farm productivity through more efficient use of water for irrigation, and to secure water supplies for crops.
How much you can apply for:
Between £35,000 and £500,000.
Dates to note:
For Round 2, the online checker (the first step to apply) closed on 7 July 2023. Those invited to submit a full application will have until the end of October 2024 to submit their application. Round 3 is expected later this year.
Farming Innovation Programme - Large R&D Partnerships (Round 3)
Summary:
The grant provides funding for businesses to further develop a new farming product or service towards commercialization. Targeted toward growers and foresters in England to take forward ideas that improve productivity, sustainability, resilience and move the sector towards net zero.
How much you can apply for:
A share of £7.8 million.
Dates to note:
The window to submit an application opened on 15 January 2024 and will close on 13 March 2024.
Farming Innovation Programme - Farming Futures R&D - nutrient management
Summary:
These grants provide funding for businesses and researchers to work on longer-term innovation. This competition will focus on nutrient management.
How much you can apply for:
A share of up to £25 million will be delivered across two competition rounds.
Dates to note:
Spring 2024 and autumn 2024.
Farming Innovation Programme Fund: Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT)
Summary:
These grants are focused on providing groups of farmers, growers and foresters in England with support to conduct on-farm experiments and trials. This will allow farmers to drive practical research that is relevant to them as well as providing "pull-through" of new technologies and processes to the practical domain. The funding and support available through ADOPT funding will help de-risk farmers' participation in research and innovation.
How much you can apply for:
There will be a total of £45 million grant funding available up until 2028/29.
Dates to note:
Coming in summer 2024.
Farming Innovation Programme - Small R&D Partnerships (Round 4)
Summary:
This grant is designed to help businesses to develop a new farming product or service and take it towards commercialisation. This can be used to develop a solution once it works in practice.
How much you can apply for:
A share of £7.8 million.
Dates to note:
Coming in autumn 2024.
Farming Innovation Programme - Feasibility Studies (Round 4)
Summary:
This grant provides funding to test the feasibility of early-stage solutions and to inform decisions on subsequent larger scale R&D projects.
How much you can apply for:
A share of up to £4.8 million.
Dates to note:
Coming in autumn 2024.
Farming Innovation Programme - Farming Futures R&D - Net Zero Farming
Summary:
These grants provide funding for businesses and researchers to work on longer-term innovation. This particular competition will focus on 'net zero farming'.
How much you can apply for:
A share of up to £12.5 million.
Dates to note:
Coming in autumn 2024.