Support and Funding

Apply by 30 June for the chance of an NFU Mutual Centenary Award for post-grad students

NFU Mutual’s 2025 Centenary Award is now open for applications. The annual award provides bursaries to pay up to 75% of course fees for selected students who are undertaking a postgraduate course in agriculture (Masters or PhD) within the UK.  The award is open to individuals who have gained, or are expected to gain, a 2:1 or above in agriculture or a related degree, and have been accepted or provisionally accepted on a Masters or PhD course in agriculture in the UK, during the 2025/2026 academic year.   The award closing date is 30 June 2025.  For further information on how to apply, please visit this page. 

Submit your England Woodland Creation Offer application by 30 June

The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) supports the creation of new woodland on areas as small as 1 hectare.  You could receive up to £10,200 per hectare, plus up to an additional £12,700 in stackable payments when delivering wider benefits to nature recovery and the environment.    Forestry Commission is recommending that applicants who are wishing to plant this winter, should submit their applications by 30 June 2025. Applications need to be in full and meet eligibility requirements in the EWCO manual. Forestry Commission will only prioritise complete applications and cannot guarantee an agreement offer in time for the coming planting season if there’s still missing information by 30 June 2025.   If you require pre-application advice email your local Land Use Advisor.

ADOPT funding to embrace new technologies on farm

Defra’s new Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT) fund will commit up to £20.6 million of funding to support the introduction of innovative technologies on farm aimed at improving productivity, resilience, and sustainability.   The projects funded through ADOPT will focus on finding solutions that address on-farm challenges, enhance productivity, and contribute to environmental outcomes. The fund also seeks to improve resilience in the face of global food security challenges.  These projects must have total costs of between £50,000 and £100,000.    The ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant of £2,500 is to engage an external Project Facilitator to support with submissions into the Full ADOPT Grant competitions.  Both grant schemes will open for applications on 28 April and close on 25 June.   You can read about the two funds on this page.  

Read the latest update from Defra on the farming budget

A Defra blog post on 12 March 2025 has set out how their £5 billion budget is split across the different schemes, grants and other payments which are supporting farmers across England.  The figures shown below are £m.

Live HLS and CS agreements – 1800
Delinked Payments – 1050
SFI agreements – 1050
Other ELM schemes – 350
Farming grants – 350
Animal health, welfare and livestock information – 150
Advice, pilots and technical support – 150
Mental health, farming resilience, prosperity fund – 100

Total: £5000

Read the full blog post on this link. 

Sustainable Farming Incentive is now closed for new applications

As from 11 March 2025 the Sustainable Farming Incentive has been closed for new applications.

• If you you already have an agreement, you will continue to receive your payments as normal.
• If you have been offered an agreement you need to accept it within 10 days of the offer, or it may be withdrawn.
• If you have submitted an application but not received an offer, you will be offered an agreement as long as the application is eligible.
• If you have partially completed an application but not submitted it, you will not be able to submit it.
• If you have an SFI pilot agreement, you will be able to apply when your pilot agreement ends.

Read more here.  

Farming in Protected Landscapes funding now extended to 2026

Farmers and land managers in England’s protected landscapes can now apply for funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme until March 2026.  The programme offers grants for projects in National Parks and National Landscapes (previously called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).  These grants support projects that:

help nature recover
reduce the impacts of climate change
protect and enhance cultural heritage
improve access to and enjoyment of our beautiful landscapes

Farmers in the Cotswold National Landscape are eligible to apply for funding.  Read more on this page.  

Animal Health and Welfare pathway now offers vet visits for multiple species

The Animal Health and Welfare Review offers farmers in England funded annual vet visits to check the health and welfare of their livestock.  Livestock farmers can now apply for funding for both the Animal Health and Welfare Review and the endemic disease follow-up for more than one species.   During a review, a vet of your choice will conduct disease testing for conditions including Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) in cattle, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) in pigs, and worming resistance in sheep.  They will also assess biosecurity measures, identify potential risks and offer tailored advice to improve the health, welfare and productivity of your animals.  The endemic disease follow-up is the second stage of the review. Further assessments will be carried out by the vet, based on the findings of the initial review.   Visit this page to read more. 

Visit this page to read how to apply for the funding.

New grants for equipment, technology and innovation announced by Defra Secretary

On 25 February at the NFU Conference, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced new opportunities to apply for productivity grants in 2025.  Grants will be offered through:

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
This spring, Defra will launch one round of FETF. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 will be available.

The Farming Innovation Programme
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 across projects to fund research focusing on technologies and practices to help transition the sector towards Net Zero.
Up to £17.6 million across projects ranging from early-stage feasibility to those at a later stage in the R&D pipeline towards commercialisation.

Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund
These practical research projects will help to prove innovative ways of boosting farm productivity, food security and nature’s recovery across England. It will open for applications in spring 2025 and grants will be available to fund projects of between £50,000 to £100,000 in size.

Read more on this page.

HLS payment rates are being increased across a range of options

To better reflect the contribution and to support the continued protection and management of land in HLS, Defra is increasing payment rates across a range of options.   All HLS agreement holders will be eligible, but the change to payment rates will depend on the options contained in the actual agreement. Agreement holders will see an increase to the value of their agreements from the 2025 claim year. If you have an option with a payment rate that is increasing, the new rate will be paid as part of your usual claim payment from December 2025.    Defra will publish a table showing the updated payment rates for each HLS option as soon as possible.  They will also write to HLS agreement holders by April to explain the new rates and what they mean for them.   Read more here.

Capital grant applications on hold are now being processed

Following the temporary closure of the Capital Grants scheme in November 2024, Defra has announced that they’ve secured sufficient funding for Capital Grants for 2025/26.   This means they can now process the 4,040 completed Capital Grants applications that were on hold.  If you haven’t already applied, you’re encouraged to submit an application through the Rural Payments service when the improved scheme re-opens later this year.   If you submitted an application and it was put on hold, you don’t need to do anything. Your application will be processed and, if approved, you’ll receive an agreement to complete your works as planned.  The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will be in touch once your application has been processed.   Read more here 

Guidance now available on the improved CS Higher Tier offer

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier pays farmers, land managers and foresters to carry out location-specific actions that restore, protect or enhance the environment.  This includes sensitive sites, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and land that requires more complex, long-term management.  It includes 132 actions, including many that are new or improved.    Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier will also offer grants for 145 capital items, including 25 new items. These grants support delivery of management, restoration or creation of sites. An additional 6 capital items are available to support the preparation of plans for CSHT applications.

The new guidance from Defra on how to apply for the offer is on this page  There’s also a webinar available on 8 January at 2.30pm – 4.00pm.  Sign up to join the webinar on this page.   Read more about the improved CS Higher Tier offer on this Defra blog post.

Catch up on the recent changes to the Sustainable Farming Incentive

On 28 August Defra published a summary of the recent changes the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).  Most of the updates have been made in response to feedback from farmers, stakeholder organisations, and other experts.   You can read a summary of the changes on this Defra blog post.   There are now 102 actions available under SFI.  View the list of actions on the Finding Funding for Farms page.  Access the dedicated SFI site on this page.

Find funding for land or farms with the new Gov.uk search engine

A search engine has been launched by Gov.uk which will allow you to find out about grants and funding for farmers and land managers in England.   Further grants and funding will be added to the site as the tool is developed.  So far, there are 101 grants available.  You can search by keyword, action name or code if you know it and use the filters to search by land types or areas of interest.  Feedback is requested to enable Gov.uk improve the tool.  Access the search engine on this page.  

Read how to make your application to SFI as straightforward as possible

When you apply for the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Defra want your experience to be smooth and as flexible as possible.  They have therefore written this blog post about what they’re doing to make the process of applying as straightforward as it can be, and the steps that you can take to prepare for your application.  You can read the blog post on this page.  

Watch how to apply for an SFI agreement

Defra has produced a video showing farmers how to apply for an SFI agreement.  Visit this page on YouTube to watch the video.