Funding for farmers and land managers
YouFind canout applywhat forfunding moneyis toavailable improvefor thefarmers, environment and your farm's productivity if you’re a farmer, land managermanagers orand forester.foresters.
Applies to England
YouIf canyou’re applya forfarmer, anyland ofmanager theor schemesforester, you incan thisapply guidance,for evenmoney ifto help you getimprove paidfarm byproductivity and the Basicenvironment.
Before Paymentyou Schemeapply (BPS).for You’lla payment, you’ll need to check you’reyou eligible(and foryour eachland, schemeif beforerelevant) youare apply.eligible.
You can beapply infor more than one schemeof atthe aavailable payments time,if:
- you
butmeet the eligibility requirements for each payment - the activities or outcomes you’re being paid for are compatible
- you
cannotwill not be paid twice fortheasamesimilaractivity.
a land-based scheme)Fromactivity2024,or‘delinked’outcomepaymentsatwillthereplacesameBPS.timeRead(andguidancedelinkedthepaymentssameandareahowoftheylandwillifbeit’scalculated.
One-off payments
One-off payments are forto activitieshelp that you dobuy onceequipment or toother helpcapital youitems, buyor equipmentfor oractivities otheryou items.do once.
Investing in equipment, technology and infrastructure
The Farming Investment Fund (FIF) provides grants between £1,000 and £500,000 to improve productivity, the environment and animal health and welfare.
You can apply for money:for:
forproductivityequipmentand slurry items- animal health and
technologywelfarethatitemsimprovesfromproductivityMarch
The other FIF grants are currently closed to new applicants, but there will be further application rounds.
Research and benefitsinnovation
You thecan environmentapply -for grants arefor availableinnovation, throughresearch and development from the Farming EquipmentInnovation Programme.
Improving animal health and Technologywelfare
Farmers Fund,who whichkeep iscattle, partsheep ofor thepigs Farmingcan Investmentget Fund
Later -this year, you’ll needalso be able to checkapply iffor you’reanimal eligiblehealth and welfare capital grants for equipment, technology and infrastructure.
Improving boundaries, trees and orchards, water quality, air quality and natural flood management
You can apply for standalone capital grants under Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants 2023
to help you improve:
- boundaries, trees and orchards
towatersupportquality- air
investmentquality - natural
infloodslurrymanagement
You systems,can includingapply for slurrythese storesgrants at any time of the year.
Improving environmentally significant sites and storewoodlands
CS coversHigher -Tier Capital Grants 2023 offers standalone capital grants willto beimprove availableenvironmentally fromsignificant thesites Farmingand Investmentwoodlands.
You Fundcan fromapply Autumnfor 2022
ResearchImproving woodland infrastructure and innovationprotection from beaver activity
You can apply for CS Protection and Infrastructure Grants, which offer standalone capital grants to:
- improve management of woodlands by making them more accessible by road, allowing timber and other forest products to be moved for
innovation,easily - protect
researchpermanent crops anddevelopmenttrees fromthebeaverFarmingactivityInnovationinProgramme.eligible catchments
You can apply for these grants at any time of year.
Improving animalmanagement healthof and welfarewoodlands
The AnimalCS HealthWoodland andManagement WelfarePlan Pathwaygrant 2023 providesoffers moneya one-off payment to helpcreate improvea 10-year Woodland Management Plan that complies with the healthUK andForestry welfareStandard.
Your plan must be approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for ongoing payments to deliver your plan under CS Higher Tier.
You can apply for this one-off payment at any time of animals.the year.
Improving the health of trees
CS affectedWoodland byTree diseaseHealth Grants 2023 offers one-off payments to support:
- restocking woodland after felling due to a tree health issue
- removing trees and rhododendron infected with specific diseases
You can apply for moneythese toone-off improvepayments treeat healthany time of year.
You can apply for funding through the tree health pilot scheme if you manage certainspecific trees or woodlands affectedinfected by somespecific pests and diseases in somecertain regions of England.
Supporting
The nationaltree parks,health Areaspilot ofoffers Outstandingdifferent Naturalsupport Beautyto (AONBs)the andCS BroadsTree Health Grants, which will end in 2024.
MoneyThe istree availablehealth frompilot thewill run until 2024.
Supporting national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs)
The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme provides funding to all farmers and land managers within:
anwithin an AONBaor National Park in England who are planning projects that:- support nature recovery
- mitigate the
NorfolkimpactsBroadsof climate change
Leaving- provide
farmingTheopportunitiesLumpforSumpeopleExittoSchemediscoverwillnature - protect
helporfarmersimproveintheEnglandqualitywhoandchoosecharactertoofleavethefarming.landscape
OnceYou youcan receiveapply afor lumpfunding sumany payment,time youup willuntil notthe beprogramme eligibleends forin anyMarch further2025. BPSYour paymentsproject ormust delinkedend payments.in March 2025.
Leaving farming
YouThe willoptional alsoLump notSum beExit eligibleScheme toenables enterfarmers intowho newwere agreementsBPS underapplicants thein following2018 schemesor unlessearlier youto repayretire theor lumpleave sumthe first:
Sustainableindustry.FarmingItIncentivesomeclosedoptionsforunderapplicationsCountrysideonStewardshipsome30optionsSeptemberunderLocalNatureRecovery
Ongoing payments
Ongoing payments are for activities to produce environmental outcomes that usually take you a year or more to complete.
ImprovingManaging theyour healthland ofin soilsan environmentally sustainable way
InIf 2022,you’re farmersa whoBPS are eligible forfarmer, BPSyou can apply for money from the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to improveget soilpaid health.for environmentally sustainable land management actions.
Understanding moorland
InSFI 2022,is farmersbeing whorolled areout eligibleincrementally, forso it will expand each year until the BPSfull range of actions are available by early 2025.
You can currently apply for money fromto:
- support soil management
- assess the
SustainablemoorlandFarmingandIncentiveidentify the environmental benefits it provides
Later this year you’ll be able to identifyapply andfor assessfunding theto help with:
- integrated pest management
- nutrient management
- arable land
- improved grassland
- low input grassland
- hedgerows
The environmental featuresland ofmanagement theirupdate moorland.has information about the new actions that will be introduced this year.
You can apply for SFI at any time of year.
Managing habitats, woodlands, flood risk and reducing water pollution
You can apply for Countryside Stewardship (CS) to get paid to lookmanage afterhabitats, woodland, flood risk and improvereduce thewater environment.pollution.
CS ApplicationsMid areTier openoffers untilongoing 2023and (forone-off agreementspayments startingto inprotect 2024).and improve:
Making
- the
spacediversity forof naturewildlife
- water
onquality
- air
farmsquality
- natural
andflood inmanagement
You thecan countrysideapply from March 2023.
You’llCS beHigher ableTier offers ongoing and one-off payments to help manage environmentally important sites, including commons and woodlands.
You can apply for moneya fromCS Higher Tier now. Your initial application must be submitted by 28 April 2023.
During 2023 and 2024, Defra will evolve CS instead of developing a new Local Nature Recovery scheme. Read Defra’s environmental land management update to getfind paidout forabout thingsthe environmental land management actions that helpwill thebe localavailable environment.in ForCS.
Large example:scale landscape and ecosystem restoration projects
Landscape Recovery offers funding for groups of land managers to do longer-term, larger-scale (around 500 to 5000 hectares), land use change projects such as:
managingcreatingandrestoringhabitatswoodlandplantingrestoringtreeswetland andmanagingwoodlandspeatlandrestoringenhancingpeatlandsbogs, fens or saltmarshesusingcreatingnaturalnaturefloodmanagementtechniquesreserves
DefraThe willsecond trialround Localof NatureLandscape Recovery withapplications landwill managersopen fromin spring 2023. AllIt eligiblewill applicantsfocus canon applynet fromzero, theprotected endsites ofand 2024.habitat creation projects.
LargePlanting scaletrees
The landscapeEngland Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO) provides funding to create new woodland on areas that are at least 1 hectare.
You can apply for EWCO at any time of the year until the scheme closes and ecosystemthese restorationactivities projectsare funded through CS.
MoneyThere are other grants available for Landscapewoodland Recoverycreation, maintenance, management and tree health.
There willare bealso availableother regional funding opportunities to supportcreate projectswoodland, such as:
creatingEngland’sandCommunityexpandingForestsnature-reservesfunding is available for planting trees in some areascreatingThe Northern Forest - you can get paid to create woodland in parts of Lancashire, Merseyside, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and LincolnshirerestoringThepeatlandNational Forest - money is available to create andwetlandmaintain forests across the country
Planning woodland
ApplicationsThe forWoodland theCreation firstPlanning roundGrant of(WCPG) projectsprovides havefunding closed.to Defraprepare willa inviteWoodland applicationsCreation forDesign Plan that complies with the nextUK roundForestry inStandard.
You 2023.can use this plan to support further woodland creation grant applications, such as EWCO.
Restoring
You peatlandscan inapply thefor uplandsWCPG andat lowlandsany time of Englandthe year.
Restoring peatlands
The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) (NCPGS) provides moneyfunding to restore peatlands in the uplands and lowlands of England.
From ItApril is2023, ayou’ll competitivebe grantable schemeto thatapply for restoration grants to fund landscape scale restoration work on degraded peatlands.
The scheme will run until 2025.
PlantingJoining trees and managing woodlandfarming
UntilYou 2024,can youapply canto getjoin paidthe topilot plantfor treesthe andNew createEntrant woodlandSupport throughScheme, thewhich Englandruns Woodlanduntil Creationspring Offer2023. onThe areaspilot thatprovides arefunding atfor leastnew 1and hectare.recent entrants into farming to help them:
There
- access
arelandotherandgrantsinfrastructure - establish
availablesuccessful and innovative businesses
Direct Payments
BPS
You can apply for woodlanda creation,BPS maintenance,2023 managementpayment andfrom tree14 health.March 2023.
MoneyYou formust woodlandsubmit creationyour isapplication availableby at15 aMay regional2023 level,to foravoid example:late application penalties.
England’sBPS
CommunitywillForestsNorthernendForestonEnglandNational31ForestDecemberCompanyNorthumberland2023.From
ForestForest2024,forBPSCornwallWoodlandswillforbeWaterreplacedPartnership
Joiningby farming
‘delinked payments’. These payments will be made until 2027.
TheEach Newyear, Entrantdirect Supportpayments Schemeare aimsbeing toprogressively encouragereduced newuntil startersthey’re intophased farming.out Defraby plans2028. toYou trialcan thiscalculate schemehow fromthese 2022progressive toreductions 2023.could affect your direct payments for 2023 and 2024.
Get help with fundingadvice
You can contact:
- the Defra Rural
ServiceServices helpline about funding, including BPS,CountrysideCSStewardship(CAP) - the Farming Advice Service about cross compliance, BPS, pesticide use, water use and quality
You can also get support from:
- organisations that provide advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund to help you plan for the future - this advice is free if you get BPS
- the Farming Community Network
- Woodland Creation officers or your local Forestry Commission Woodland Officer about planting and managing woodland about planting and managing woodland
- your Catchment Sensitive Farming local farm advisor for advice about water or air quality, or reducing flood risk on your land
- the Bovine TB Advisory Service to help reduce the incidence and severity of bovine TB breakouts
Last updated
-
Updated to include current and future funding available to farmers and land managers.
-
Restructured page to make it clearer what funding options are available to farmers, land managers and foresters.
-
A link to more information about the sustainable farming incentive has been added.
-
First published.
Update history
2024-08-05 10:00
Added a section on capital items and link to the new capital items collection page.
2024-07-16 17:41
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.
2024-06-26 11:00
Laying Hen Housing for Health and Welfare grant (round 1) is open to check if you’re eligible to apply.
2024-06-19 14:00
Updated the improve animal health and welfare section to include details on the ‘Get funding to improve animal health and welfare’ expanded offer.
2024-06-08 00:01
Water Restoration Fund information removed as it is now closed for applications from 7 June 2024 at 11.59pm
2024-05-21 11:25
Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme information is published to find out what’s included in the expanded offer for 2024.
2024-04-09 12:00
Added details of the Water Restoration Fund to the ‘improve water and air quality’ section.
2024-03-22 07:12
Improving Farm Productivity grant eligibility checker closed on 21 March 2024. Updated the delinked payments section.
2024-03-20 09:45
Added opening and closing dates for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024 grants.
2024-03-18 11:00
Updated the England Woodland Creation Grant (EWCO) rate in the ‘creating woodland’ section.
2024-03-07 12:44
Added a link to the SFI actions filter tool.
2024-02-20 10:56
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.
2023-12-14 15:57
Guidance for Round 2 of the Improving Farm Productivity grant added for the first stage of the application process that opens in January 2024.
2023-12-05 13:49
The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund opens for the third round of applications on 11 December.
2023-12-01 10:27
The Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant checker has now closed.
2023-11-23 09:56
Slurry Infrastructure grant: round 2 eligibility checker now open.
2023-11-14 09:30
Water Management Grant is now closed.
2023-10-27 08:58
Species Survival Fund closed on 26 October 2023.
2023-10-20 14:30
Added guidance links to closed schemes: Basic Payment Scheme and Lump Sum Exit Scheme for those who have applied.
2023-10-19 10:25
SFI now open to all eligible applicants.
2023-10-12 15:06
Round 2 of the Slurry Infrastructure grant is expected to open in November. Landscape Recovery scheme has closed.
2023-09-08 10:36
Calf Housing for Health and Welfare grant is open to check if you’re eligible to apply.
2023-08-24 15:00
Added 2 woodland grants: Great Northumberland Forest and Forest of Cornwall and a link to the Forestry Commission campaign site.
2023-08-23 12:00
You can now apply for an SFI annual health and welfare review if you’re eligible to do so.
2023-08-15 14:04
Updated the Water Management grant which is at Stage 2 for notified applicants successful at Stage 1.
2023-07-28 08:48
Details of the Calf Housing and Welfare grant published.
2023-07-20 14:54
Update grant value sentence for SFI from ‘between £10 – £989 per hectare, depending on action ‘ to ‘between £10 – £732 per hectare, depending on action’.
2023-07-19 11:57
Content on this page has been restructured to show grants and funding open or opening soon for applications, closing dates and grant value information.
2023-06-21 11:27
Added Sustainable Farming Incentive information for 2023 applications opening later this summer.
2023-05-25 09:49
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.
2023-04-28 16:40
Updated information on the New Entrant Support Scheme.
2023-02-21 09:19
Updated to include current and future funding available to farmers and land managers.
2022-06-07 15:50
Restructured page to make it clearer what funding options are available to farmers, land managers and foresters.
2022-03-30 11:49
A link to more information about the sustainable farming incentive has been added.
2022-03-09 15:29
First published.