Capital grants in 2024: an overview

In this post, I'll provide an overview of capital grants for environmental land management, the current offer and recent updates.
Sarah Blatchford is a senior policy adviser in the Future Farming CAP and Transition team which is responsible for managing Environmental and Countryside Stewardship agreements under EU and domestic terms. The team is also working closely with environmental land management colleagues in developing and delivering the new land management schemes.
Sarah has been in the Civil Service since 2003 when she joined the Department of Work and Pensions. She moved to the RPA in 2007, working on the Single Payment Scheme before moving to the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) in 2012. She joined Defra in 2016 to work on the Growth Programme which is part of the RDPE.
Sarah lives in the south-west where she enjoys photographing the beautiful landscapes and wildlife she encounters. She also enjoy history and being outside in the garden whenever possible.
In this post, I'll provide an overview of capital grants for environmental land management, the current offer and recent updates.
Farm visits are a useful way for us to understand the context in which farmers work and what’s important to them. In this post, I'd like to share what I learned during a recent visit to Challacombe Farm on Dartmoor.
Those who started an SFI application within 2 months of 11 March 2025 but did not submit it by that date will be given 6 weeks to complete an application, subject to specific restrictions, including a cap of £9,300 per year per agreement.
Read the full update from Food Security and Rural Affairs Minister Daniel Zeichner.
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.
This week, we’ll be at:
NSA Sheep South West in East Knowstone Devon – 25 June
The Royal Norfolk Show in Norwich – 25–26 June
The CAAV Conference in Edinburgh – 27 June
Come and say hello to our team.
You can find us at these agricultural shows and conferences in 2025.
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 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.