Defra has announced several reforms to the range of support available to farmers including changes to some of the funding schemes.
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is being extended until March 2026. This programme supports nature recovery, climate change mitigation and public access activities in National Landscapes (previously AONBs) and National Parks. More details about the programme are available in a separate Devon Funding News post.
There will also be new opportunities to apply for funding from the following programmes:
Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) – grants for equipment, technology and small infrastructure to boost productivity, improve slurry management and enhance animal health and welfare. A new round is launching this Spring with grants of £1,000 to £25,000.
Farming Innovation Programme – the new opportunities are currently in the final planning stage and include up to £12.5 million available to fund research to deliver the practical benefits of precision breeding technology to farmers; up to £12.5 million for research focusing on technologies and practices to help transition the sector towards Net Zero; and a further up to £17.6 million for other research projects
ADOPT (Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies) fund – grants of £50,000 to £100,000 for collaborative farmer-led innovation grants for on-farm trials of new technology (opening Spring 2025)
Other announcements include:
- a £30m increase in payment rates for existing Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements to bring the payment rates in line with other farming schemes
- the capital grants scheme for England will reopen in the summer with £45m available for 2025-26.
- a new Countryside Stewardship (CS) Higher Tier will launch this summer, offering funding for sustainable land management, including woodlands and heritage sites.
Defra’s overview of the grants available to farmers, growers and land managers covers the range of government support available to the agricultural sector.
Sign up to the Defra farming blog to keep up to date with the latest announcements.
Focus of fund/fund aims:
Updates on funding programmes for the agricultural sector
Application deadline:
Refer to individual schemes