Farmers, growers and foresters in England will soon be able to apply for a share of £850,000 for ideas that improve productivity, sustainability, resilience and move the agricultural sector to net zero. Opening on 18 December, the Research Starter competition offers an entry point to the innovation process for those with bold, ambitious, early-stage ideas. We published guidance for the competition today to help you prepare.
The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) will soon offer grants designed to help farmers attract private investment in nature. You’ll be able to apply for a grant on 11 December 2023. We've published guidance for the grant on GOV.UK to help you prepare.
In this post, I'm pleased to share the 34 successful projects in the second round of Landscape Recovery. This £25 million round will fund 12 more projects than the previous round, demonstrating our commitment to funding that delivers environmental benefits in harmony with food production.
Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL), farmers and land managers can get funding to deliver projects that support and improve National Landscapes (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty), National Parks and the Broads. In this post, I'll share an overview of the programme and findings from the recently published Farming in Protected Landscapes evaluation. The findings give a sense of how popular the scheme has been and the reasons behind it.
I’m pleased to say you can now apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant. In this round, Round 2, £74 million of grant funding is available. This is more than double the funding available in Round 1. With more funding available, we’d strongly encourage everyone who wants to improve their slurry storage to apply for a grant.
On Monday 4 December, we held a webinar for arable farmers and horticultural farmers in England to learn more about the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). In this post, I'll share a link to the webinar recording.
In this post, the team behind the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project share their plans to restore streams and rivers, protect threatened native species, improve natural habitats and adapt to climate change while continuing to productively farm and create new revenue streams for farmers in the area.
On Monday 20 November, we hosted a webinar for livestock and grassland farmers to learn more about the funding opportunities available in England. The webinar focused on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.
We're pleased to announce a fourth call for tests and trials to help us test and further develop our environmental land management schemes. In this post, I'll share what we plan to explore, how you can apply and details of an upcoming webinar.
The Farming Resilience Fund provides business support to farmers and land managers in the first few years of adapting to agricultural transition. If you currently receive direct payments you can receive this support and it is free of charge. In this podcast, Defra's Andrew Powley talks to the NFU's Richard Wordsworth about this offer. They are joined by beef and sheep farmer Richard Findlay.
On 10 May, we’ll be at the Nottinghamshire Show in Newark.
Come and say hello to our team.
You can also find us at these agricultural shows and conferences in 2025.
