RPA - Rural Payments Agency

07/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/16/2024 10:42

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers

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.

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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.

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 (CS)

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.

You can apply for Countryside Stewardship to get paid to:

  • increase biodiversity
  • improve habitat
  • expand woodland areas
  • improve water quality
  • improve air quality
  • improve natural flood management

Use the CS grant finder to see what's available to achieve these environmental outcomes.

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

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)

Open: 26 June 2024.
Grant value: between £5,000 and £500,000.
Closing date: Eligibility checker closes on 18 September 2024.

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 about how to apply.

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: 1 January 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

CSWoodland 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 and lump sum payments

Delinked payments

From 2024, delinked payments are replacing Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments. The 2023 scheme year was the last year of BPS.

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

Lump Sum Exit Scheme

Information for famers who applied for a lump sum to leave or retire from farming. The scheme closed on 30 September 2022.

Updates to this page

Published 9 March 2022
Last updated 16 July 2024 + show all updates
  1. 16 July 2024

    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.

  2. 26 June 2024

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

  3. 19 June 2024

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

  4. 8 June 2024

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

  5. 21 May 2024

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

  6. 9 April 2024

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

  7. 22 March 2024

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

  8. 20 March 2024

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

  9. 18 March 2024

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

  10. 7 March 2024

    Added a link to the SFI actions filter tool.

  11. 20 February 2024

    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.

  12. 14 December 2023

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

  13. 5 December 2023

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

  14. 1 December 2023

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

  15. 23 November 2023

    Slurry Infrastructure grant: round 2 eligibility checker now open.

  16. 14 November 2023

    Water Management Grant is now closed.

  17. 27 October 2023

    Species Survival Fund closed on 26 October 2023.

  18. 20 October 2023

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

  19. 19 October 2023

    SFI now open to all eligible applicants.

  20. 12 October 2023

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

  21. 25 September 2023

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

  22. 8 September 2023

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

  23. 24 August 2023

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

  24. 23 August 2023

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

  25. 15 August 2023

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

  26. 28 July 2023

    Details of the Calf Housing and Welfare grant published.

  27. 20 July 2023

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

  28. 19 July 2023

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

  29. 21 June 2023

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

  30. 25 May 2023

    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.

  31. 28 April 2023

    Updated information on the New Entrant Support Scheme.

  32. 21 February 2023

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

  33. 7 June 2022

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

  34. 30 March 2022

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

  35. 9 March 2022

    First published.

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