Guidance

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers

Apply for grants and other funding to increase productivity, manage your land to benefit the environment and support your agricultural business.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Rural Payments Agency and Forestry Commission
Published
9 March 2022
Last updated
18 December 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

Defra is looking for farmers, growers and land managers to join a user panel to help improve guidance and services on GOV.UK. Find out more information and how to take part in research sessions.

This page tells you about grants and other funding currently open or opening soon.

You may be able to apply for one or more of the available grants and funding schemes if you or your land are eligible. The guidance for each scheme will explain where this is possible.

Manage your land to benefit the environment

Apply through an environmental land management (ELM) scheme to farm productively and in a way that benefits the environment. There are 3 ELM schemes and supporting capital items.

1. Sustainable Farming Incentive

Grant value: variable payment rates depending on the action.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme pays farmers and land managers to take up or maintain sustainable farming and land management practices that:

  • protect and benefit the environment
  • support food production
  • improve productivity

These practices are referred to as ‘SFI actions’.

If you and your land are eligible, you can apply for up to 102 SFI actions in the expanded SFI offer for 2024.

SFI agreements usually last for 3 or 5 years, depending on which SFI actions you select.

Read the SFI scheme information to apply for an SFI agreement and use the Find funding for land or farms tool to search for actions you and your land are eligible to apply for.

2. Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT)

Opens: summer 2025.
Grant value: amounts vary depending land management actions included in your CSHT agreement.

CSHT pays farmers and land managers to manage land in a way that:

  • protects, restores or enhances the environment
  • mitigates the effects of climate change

CSHT can be done on woodland, farmed land, land managed for nature or a combination of these. This includes important environmental or historic sites, such as:

  • sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)
  • commons
  • woodlands
  • scheduled monuments

CSHT will roll out in a controlled way by invitation, so everyone gets the right level of support.

Natural England or the Forestry Commission (or both) will provide the relevant pre-application advice from January 2025 to enable the farmers and land managers to prepare an application.

You cannot apply for CSHT until you receive an invitation to get pre-application advice from Natural England or the Forestry Commission.

Read the preview guidance for CSHT that explains what you can do now to prepare to apply and what funding will be available.

3. Landscape Recovery

Closing date: the scheme is now closed.

Landscape Recovery pays groups of farmers and land managers to do long-term, large-scale projects together. Land must be in England and consist of at least 500 connected hectares.

The Landscape Recovery scheme supports:

  • net zero carbon emissions
  • protected sites
  • wildlife-rich habitat

4. Capital items

You can get paid for capital items to help you carry out management actions. 

See Capital items: guidance for applicants and agreement holders for more information.

Invest in equipment, technology and infrastructure to increase productivity

You can apply for grants through the Farming Investment Fund (FIF) to invest in new technology, equipment and infrastructure.

Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF)

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) has 3 grants to help you buy items to:  

  • improve productivity
  • manage slurry
  • improve animal health and welfare

Grant value: up to £50,000 towards productivity and slurry items and up to £25,000 towards animal health and welfare items.
Closing date: now closed

Water Management grant (round 2)

Grant value: between £35,000 and £500,000.
Closing date: invited applicants have until 11.59pm on 31 October 2024 to submit their full application.

Read the guidance for Water Management round 2 applicants.

Slurry Infrastructure grant (round 2)

Grant value: between £25,000 and £250,000.
Closing date: invited applicants have until 11:59pm on 30 September 2024 to submit their full application.

Read the guidance for Slurry Infrastructure round 2 applicants.

Adding Value grant

Grant value: between £25,000 and £300,000.
Closing date: now closed.

The Adding Value grant is closed.

Improving Farm Productivity grant (round 2)

Grant value:
between £25,000 and £500,000 for robotic or automatic equipment.
between £15,000 and £100,000 for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Closing date: invited applicants have until 11.59pm on 31 July 2025 to submit their full application.

Read the guidance for Improving Farm Productivity round 2 applicants.

Improve water quality and air quality

CS offers

You can apply for grants to improve water and air quality through CS. Check the CS grant finder for water quality options and air quality options. You can choose grants suitable for your land and apply to the relevant CS grant scheme.

Grant value: amounts vary depending on your CS agreement.
Closing date: some grants are open all year, others are time-limited - read the CS guidance for details.

Reduce flood risk

You can apply for grants to reduce flood risk through CS. Check the CS grant finder for natural flood management options. You can choose grants suitable for your land and apply to the relevant CS grant scheme.

Grant value: amounts vary depending on your CS agreement.
Closing date: some grants are open all year, others are time-limited - read the CS guidance for details.

Protect species and habitats and support biodiversity

You can apply for grants to protect species and habitats and support biodiversity through CS. Check the CS grant finder for:

You can choose grants suitable for your land and apply to the relevant CS grant scheme.

CS Wildlife Offers

Grant value: amounts vary depending on your CS agreement.
Closing date: some grants are open all year, others are time-limited - read the CS guidance for details.

Wildlife Offers are part of CS Mid Tier and are a simpler way to improve biodiversity based on land use. You can choose to:

  • improve nectar sources for insect pollinators and foraging for birds
  • provide additional winter food sources for seed-eating birds
  • improve habitats and other resources for specific species or areas

There are CS wildlife packages for:

SFI offers

When SFI opens, you can choose SFI management actions for:

Species Survival Fund

Grants value: from £250,000 to £3 million for 2-year projects.
Closed: the fund is now closed.

Further information is available on the Heritage Fund website.

Farming in protected landscapes

Open: apply at any time of year.
Grant value: amounts vary depending on your project.
Closing date: projects must end by March 2025.

Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme, you can apply for funding if you’re a farmer or land manager within an area of outstanding natural beauty or national park in England. You must be planning projects that:

  • support nature recovery
  • mitigate the impacts of climate change
  • provide opportunities for people to discover nature
  • protect or improve the quality and character of the landscape

Read the guidance for the FiPL programme to find out how to apply.

Improve animal health and welfare

Get funding to improve animal health and welfare

Open: apply at any time of year.
Grant value: from £215 to £923 per review or follow-up depending on livestock type.

Farmers who keep cattle, sheep or pigs can get funding for a vet to visit their farm to carry out an annual health and welfare review, and an endemic disease follow-up.

Read the funding to improve animal health and welfare: guidance for farmers and vets.

Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant (round 1)

Grant value: between £5,000 and £500,000.
Closing date: invited applicants have until 11.59pm on 30 January 2026 to submit their full application. 

Egg production farmers can apply for a grant to add a veranda onto, or upgrade or replace, existing laying hen or pullet housing to improve animal health and welfare.

Read the Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare guidance to find out how to submit your full application.

Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant

Grant value: between £15,000 and £500,000.
Closing date: invited applicants have until 11.59pm on 30 April 2025 to submit their full application.

Read the Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant guidance to find out about how to submit your full application.

Create or improve woodland and protect tree health

Creating woodland

The England Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO) provides funding to create new woodland on areas that are at least 1 hectare.

Open: all year round.
Grant value: up to £10,200 per hectare with an additional £12,700 per hectare if the woodland delivers wider benefits to society, nature recovery and the environment.
Closing date: 5 April 2025.

Read the Forestry Commission’s overview of grants available for woodland creation, maintenance, management and tree health.

Creating regional woodland

If your land is located within the catchment area of one of our local Woodland Creation Partners, you could apply for a regional woodland creation or tree planting grant that can be tailored to your circumstances.

Catchment areas are as follows:

Our woodland creation campaign tells you more about these regional grants.

Planning woodland

CS offers grants for 10-year woodland management planning.

Open: all year round.
Grant value: depends on the area of eligible woodland.

The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) provides funding to prepare a Woodland Creation Design Plan that complies with the UK Forestry Standard.

Open: all year round.
Grant value: maximum £30,500 per project.

You can use this plan to support further woodland creation grant applications, such as EWCO.

Protecting tree health

You can apply to the tree health pilot scheme 2024 to test different ways of slowing the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. Grants are available for:

  • ash with ash dieback
  • diseased larch, spruce and sweet chestnut
  • oak with oak processionary moth
  • restocking trees

Open: all year round.
Grant value:
- up to 80% of felling costs per m3
- up to 40% of infrastructure costs

CS Woodland Tree Health grant pays you to restock or improve woodland after tree health problems. There are 19 capital items available under CS to choose from.

Open: all year round.
Grant value: varies depending on the capital items chosen as part of your CS grant agreement.

Attract private investment in nature projects

Opens: 11 December 2023.
Grant value: grants of up to £100,000 from a £5 million fund.
Closing date: now closed.

The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) offers grants to help farmers attract private investment in nature projects, such as selling carbon units through peatland restoration. Read the NEIRF fund guidance for more information.

Funding for research and innovation

You can apply for grants through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) to:

  • improve agricultural and horticultural productivity, sustainability and resilience
  • reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and horticulture
  • use science and research to develop solutions for practical challenges in agriculture and horticulture

More information is available on the FIP website.

Delinked payments

Delinked payments replaced Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments in 2024. The 2023 scheme year was the last year of BPS.

Delinked payments will be made each year from 2024 until 2027.

Updates to this page

Published 9 March 2022
Last updated 18 December 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added call for farmers, growers and land managers to take part in a user panel to help improve guidance and services on GOV.UK.

  2. Updated the Countryside Stewardship section to explain how farmers can prepare for the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme.

  3. From 2024, delinked payments replaced Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments, Details for the lump sum exit scheme have been removed as the scheme is closed.

  4. Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant (round 1) details updated because eligibility checker closes on 18 September 2024. Invited applicants have until 30 January 2026 to submit their full application.

  5. Added a section on capital items and link to the new capital items collection page.

  6. Removed duplicated 'Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant round 1 (LHHHW)' information from under ‘Invest in equipment, technology and infrastructure to increase productivity' header. Added when LHHHW is open and how much funding is available back into the LHHHW info under 'Improve animal health and welfare’ as this was missing. Also added back 'Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant' info as although eligibility checker had closed, it's still open for invited applicants to make a full application.

  7. Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant (round 1) is open to check if you're eligible to apply.

  8. Updated the improve animal health and welfare section to include details on the 'Get funding to improve animal health and welfare' expanded offer.

  9. Water Restoration Fund information removed as it is now closed for applications from 7 June 2024 at 11.59pm

  10. Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme information is published to find out what's included in the expanded offer for 2024.

  11. Added details of the Water Restoration Fund to the 'improve water and air quality' section.

  12. Improving Farm Productivity grant eligibility checker closed on 21 March 2024. Updated the delinked payments section.

  13. Added opening and closing dates for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024 grants.

  14. Updated the England Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO) rate in the 'creating woodland' section.

  15. Added a link to the SFI actions filter tool.

  16. Page has been updated to include to more detail on the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) and closure of the Slurry Infrastructure grant (round 2). References to the Farming Transformation Fund (FTF) have been removed. The Farming Transformation Fund grants are now known as Farming Investment Fund (FIF) grants.

  17. Guidance for Round 2 of the Improving Farm Productivity grant added for the first stage of the application process that opens in January 2024.

  18. The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund opens for the third round of applications on 11 December.

  19. The Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant checker has now closed.

  20. Slurry Infrastructure grant: round 2 eligibility checker now open.

  21. Water Management Grant is now closed.

  22. Species Survival Fund closed on 26 October 2023.

  23. Added guidance links to closed schemes: Basic Payment Scheme and Lump Sum Exit Scheme for those who have applied.

  24. SFI now open to all eligible applicants.

  25. Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant is expected to open in November. Landscape Recovery scheme has closed.

  26. We have updated the information on who can apply for the SFI annual health and welfare review funding.

  27. Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant is open to check if you're eligible to apply.

  28. Added 2 woodland grants: Great Northumberland Forest and Forest of Cornwall and a link to the Forestry Commission campaign site.

  29. You can now apply for an SFI annual health and welfare review if you're eligible to do so.

  30. Updated the Water Management grant which is at Stage 2 for notified applicants successful at Stage 1.

  31. Details of the Calf Housing and Welfare grant published.

  32. Update grant value sentence for SFI from 'between £10 - £989 per hectare, depending on action ' to 'between £10 - £732 per hectare, depending on action'.

  33. Content on this page has been restructured to show grants and funding open or opening soon for applications, closing dates and grant value information.

  34. Added Sustainable Farming Incentive information for 2023 applications opening later this summer.

  35. The information about Landscape Recovery has been updated to reflect the round two focus. A link to the guidance and to apply has also been added.

  36. Updated information on the New Entrant Support Scheme.

  37. Updated to include current and future funding available to farmers and land managers.

  38. Restructured page to make it clearer what funding options are available to farmers, land managers and foresters.

  39. A link to more information about the sustainable farming incentive has been added.

  40. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page

Contents

Related content