SFI26: scheme information now available
SFI26: scheme information now available
Near-final scheme information for this year's Sustainable Farming Incentive offer (SFI26) is now available on GOV.UK.
Test and Trials: watch the North Cumbria Farmers Group
Posted by:
Joe Tilbury and Graham Higgins, Posted on:
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Categories:
A view from the farm, Things we're doing, Things we've learned, Ways to get involved
We're developing schemes that reward environmental land management. To make sure that those schemes work in practice, farmers and land managers across England are putting elements of those schemes to the test. It's one of the ways though which we're carrying out co-design. In this video, the North Cumbria Farmers Group share what they've been …
Understanding and improving farming regulation
Some farming and land management activities are regulated to safeguard our environment and to protect the health of animals, plants and people. We do this through around 150 pieces of legislation, comprising primary and secondary legislation. All of this legislation applies to agricultural activity, and collectively constitutes what is known as the ‘regulatory baseline for agriculture’. This …
The Farming Innovation Programme in 2022
In October, we launched the first rounds of funding in our Farming Innovation Programme. As we've been processing the applications, we've seen a promising spread of ideas across the livestock, horticulture and broadacre sub-sectors. These ideas are coming in from across the whole of England. In this post, I'll share next steps and what to …
Future Farming Podcast: Government-funded innovation
Posted by:
The Team, Posted on:
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Categories:
Conversations we're having, Future Farming Podcast, Payments for equipment, technology and infrastructure
In the seventh episode of the Future Farming podcast, Tim Mordan, Defra’s Head of Farming Innovation, Productivity and Science talks to Rui Andrês, CEO of Fieldwork Robotics, about their innovative raspberry robot picker.
Our priorities for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway
Today, we published our initial priorities for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. They represent some of the best opportunities for improving animal health and welfare we have across each livestock sector. In this post, I’ll share those priorities.
Farming Equipment and Technology Fund: grants issued
Posted by:
Gordon Jones, Posted on:
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Categories:
Payments for equipment, technology and infrastructure
Recently we ran the first round of our new Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. We received 5,624 eligible applications worth a total overall value of just over £53.5 million. This is triple our initial budget allocation for the fund.
Slurry: making the best of it
Posted by:
The Team, Posted on:
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Categories:
A view from the farm, Things we're doing, Things we've learned, Ways to get involved
Slurry contains lots of nutrients including nitrates, phosphate and potash as well as a host of other things that can benefit soil health and support crop growth. It can, however, create significant pollution to our water and air. Through co-design, our team joined with a group of farmers, industry leaders and experts to explore the …
How we’re developing slurry grants
Today, we've blogged about how we're working with farmers and others across the industry to use slurry to our advantage. Farmers told us that finance often stands in the way of improving their slurry and nutrient management systems. Investing in slurry equipment and infrastructure is expensive. Particularly when it comes to integrating new technologies, techniques and …
Co-design in 2022: reflections, plans and principles
Posted by:
Neville Cavendish, Aditi Arora and The Co-design Team, Posted on:
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Categories:
Farming and Countryside Team
More than 4,000 people from across the farming community in England are now working with us to design, pilot, test and trial new farming policies and schemes. In this post, we’ll explain how we’re working with the farming community. We'll also share the 7 co-design principles we’re encouraging groups to follow.
The Future Farming Resilience Fund: an opportunity for advice providers and a call for farmer feedback
One of the ways we’re supporting farmers is through the Future Farming Resilience Fund. Through the fund, independent advisers can provide free business advice to farmers in England. In this post, I’ll share 2 new pieces of information about the fund. The first is a new opportunity for advice providers. The second is a request for farmers …
Related content and links
Preparing your business for the UK-EU SPS agreement
Read the new guidance to understand what the changes could mean for your business and how to prepare.
Agricultural property relief
From 6 April 2026, qualifying agricultural and business assets will continue to receive full inheritance tax relief up to a combined value of £2.5 million. Lower relief rates will apply to assets above this amount. Learn more
Talk to us
4-6 June Royal Cornwall Show, Royal Cornwall Showground, Whitecross, Wadebridge.
6 June Cumberland Show, The Showfield, Warwick on Eden, Carlisle.
9-11 June Register to attend Defra Farming updates at Areley, Kelsall Hill, Harrogate, Hexham, Darlington, Lincoln and Belper.
Get advice
The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provides 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.
Join a webinar
Livestock disease guidance
Nutrient Management Planning Tool
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