You can now apply for a Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2026 grant to help invest in equipment and technology for your business.
The fund supports farmers, growers, foresters and contractors to buy equipment and technology that improves productivity, animal health and welfare, and slurry management.
This year, £50 million is available across 3 themes:
- Productivity equipment (£20 million available)
- Animal health and welfare (£20 million available)
- Slurry management (£10 million available)
You can apply for grants between £1,000 and £25,000 per theme, with a maximum of £75,000 available if you apply across all 3 themes.
The application window is open for 6 weeks and will close at midday on 28 April 2026.
If you’re planning to invest in equipment or technology for your business this year, now is the time to apply.
The FETF 2026 guidance is available on GOV.UK. It includes details on eligibility, how to apply, and links to the lists of items under each theme.
This will be the final standalone round of FETF in its current form. From 2027, we plan to build on what has worked well across our grant schemes by bringing the strongest elements together, simplifying the application process and making it easier for farmers to access funding.
Learn more
We recently hosted a webinar for prospective applicants to learn more about FETF.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) also produced a series of videos on how to apply.
Making a difference: farm stories
Reducing reliance on artificial fertiliser
Devon-based dairy farm Aplins Farm Ltd successfully applied for 2 pieces of equipment:
- A mobile slurry chopper pump, which mixes, chops and pumps slurry to keep it uniform and easier to spread.
- An umbilical hose reeler, which efficiently lays out the pipe used to pump slurry from storage directly to the field applicator. This enables spreading over larger areas without the need for heavy tanker journeys across fields.
These investments have significantly improved the farm’s slurry management. The chopper pump ensures slurry is ready to apply and helps prevent blockages, making application easier while maximising its value as a nutrient source and reducing reliance on artificial fertiliser.
The equipment also helps protect soil structure by eliminating the need for heavy tankers to travel across fields. In addition, it saves time by removing the need for repeated trips to refill a tanker.
Boosting crop yields
North Yorkshire cereals farm E C & S J Alton secured FETF funding to invest in two pieces of equipment designed to improve how they manage irrigation.
They installed an irrigation sensor to monitor soil moisture levels, helping them see exactly when crops need watering. They also bought an irrigation controller for their rain guns, which automates watering schedules and ensures the right amount of water is applied at the correct pressure and time.
Together, this equipment helps the farm make more informed decisions about when and how much to irrigate.
By targeting water use more precisely, the system reduces unnecessary watering while supporting crop growth, helping the farm use water more efficiently and manage costs.
Improving flock health
Shropshire-based livestock farm N L Pugh and Co secured funding last year to improve their sheep management and animal welfare.
With FETF funding, the farm bought 3 pieces of equipment:
- an automatic weighing and drafting crate, which quickly and accurately weighs sheep before sorting them into groups based on weight, sex or age
- an electronic identification (EID) gun, which reads ear tags and triggers the correct dose of treatment based on each animal’s weight
- a snacker feeder for mobile supplementary feeding in the field, helping to reduce ground damage that can occur with traditional trough feeding
Together, these investments have improved both flock management and farm efficiency.
By ensuring each sheep receives the correct dose of treatment based on its actual weight, the system reduces medicine waste while helping make sure animals receive the right level of treatment.
Subscribe to the Farming Blog
If you want to stay in the loop on future schemes and support, subscribe to the Farming Blog. You'll receive an email notification as soon as we publish a new post.
If you’ve received an FETF grant before, we’d love to hear how it’s helped you. Just drop a comment below.
The 
2 comments
Comment by Rad Thomas posted on
how do I apply
Comment by Sarah Stewart posted on
Hello:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2026/apply-for-the-farming-equipment-and-technology-fund-fetf-2026#how-to-apply
Best wishes,
Sarah