Gordon Jones

Prior to joining Defra, Gordon worked in the dairy industry managing a 250-cow Cheshire dairy herd.

Gordon now leads work on developing the new Farming Investment Fund.

The Farming Investment Fund launches today 

Gordon Jones, 16 November 2021 - Payments for equipment, technology and infrastructure

I’m pleased to say that the Farming Investment Fund launches today. The fund provides grants to farmers, growers, and foresters (including related contractors) so that they can invest in the things they need to improve productivity and enhance the natural environment. In this post, I'll share how you can apply and find out more.

The Farming Investment Fund: an overview

Gordon Jones, 30 March 2021 - Things we're doing, Ways to get involved

In the Agricultural Transition Plan, we said we believe there is a way for the industry to increase productivity in an environmentally sustainable way without relying on Direct Payments. In this post, I'll give an overview of the fund.

About us

This blog is managed by Defra’s Farming and Countryside Programme.

On this blog, we explain the reforms to agricultural policy in England.

We share what we’re working on, what we’re learning and how you can get involved.

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New: drafts of further endorsed SFI actions

We’ve published drafts of an additional 14 SFI endorsed actions. Once we take stakeholder feedback on board, we expect these actions to be available from summer 2025.

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers in England

GOV.UK is the place to find official guidance and information.

Funding for farmers, growers and land managers sets out every payment on offer with links to learn more.

Get advice

The Farming Resilience Fund provides free, independent business support to farmers. If you’ve received direct payments since October 2022, you’re eligible. 

The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provide free, confidential advice to farmers and advisers.

Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) helps farmers in England protect water, air and soil. CSF advisers can provide advice on best practices and specific SFI actions that will benefit your farm business and the environment.

We’ve compiled a list of organisations offering wellbeing support to those in the farming community.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive

Find out how SFI can work for you.

Webinars in 2025

Attend upcoming webinars and watch recordings.

BPS and delinked payments

Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in England will be replaced with delinked payments in 2024.

Learn how they’re calculated and who’s eligible.

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