New funding available for lowland peat soils

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming and Countryside Team, Grants, Ways to get involved, Webinars
Lowland peat field with wet grassland, reeds and standing water under a cloudy sky.

From today, 2 new grants are available to farmers and land managers on lowland peat soils. One provides funding for water management infrastructure, while the other supports research into viable markets for paludiculture and traditional crops grown at higher water tables.

The SFI26 budget

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Sustainable Farming Incentive
Aerial view of green farmland with rows of crops divided by hedgerows and a line of evenly spaced trees casting long shadows, under a partly cloudy sky stretching across a gently rolling countryside.

Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle has confirmed a £240 million budget for new Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements. In this post, we explain how the funding will be allocated, what it means for Window 1 and Window 2 applicants, and where you can find information to help you prepare for the scheme opening later this month.

Watch: lessons from farmers growing herbal leys in the Derbyshire White Peak

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Farming across the UK

Last summer, we visited farmers in the Derbyshire White Peak to hear what they’ve learned from growing herbal leys in improved grassland systems. Working with Catchment Sensitive Farming adviser Ben Rodgers, they have been exploring how multi-species swards can be integrated into grassland farming. In this post, we’re sharing the first films from that work.

Farming podcast: building resilience through soil and water management

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Conversations we're having, Defra Farming Podcast
Green background with illustrated farmland and silhouettes of two people walking, alongside text naming speakers Hannah Barrett, Charlie Ennals and Thomas Gent, and three small speaker headshots.

In this episode, a Catchment Sensitive Farming adviser speaks to two arable farmers. One farms in Norfolk and the other in Cambridgeshire. They discuss how natural processes, like soil and water management, can help farms reduce costs.

Farming Innovation Investor Partnerships: helping new solutions reach farms

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments for research and innovation
Photograph of a small, gray, porous pellet resting on bright green moss with scattered dry leaves and grass around.

Through the Farming Innovation Investor Partnerships competition, 12 projects are expected to secure more than £40 million in private investment to help bring agri-tech innovations to market. A further competition will open next month.