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Large Research and Development Partnerships: further innovation funding available

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Montage of cows, hydroponics, sheep and vertical farming and cows

Later this month, the second round of the Large Research and Development Partnerships fund will open. From 20 February, agri-businesses, farmers, growers and foresters in England will be able to apply for a share of £8 million to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience. In this post, I’ll give an overview of the competition and details of events for you to find out more.

Further funding available to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments for research and innovation
Orchard scene in Kent.

At the end of this month, farmers, growers and foresters in England will be able to apply for a share of £850,000 to improve productivity, sustainability and resilience. In this post, I’ll share an overview of the competition, the application process and links to help you prepare.  

Funding available for robotics and automation in farming

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Device controlling agricultural robot

From 9 January 2023, farmers, growers and agritech businesses in England will be able to apply for funding to develop innovative ideas in the areas of robotics and automation. In this post, I’ll give an overview of the competition, dates for your diary and links for you to find out more.

Apply for share of £16.5 million innovation funding

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From the end of this month, £16.5 million will be available through 2 new research and development competitions. There is no set theme for these competitions as we don’t want to create barriers to innovation. However, all projects must focus on improving the productivity, environmental sustainability and resilience of England’s agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors.  In this post, I'll give an overview and an update on the previous rounds.

Further funding for farmers, foresters and growers to innovate

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Gap in a hedgerow with sheep in background. Hartlip, Kent.

The Farming Innovation Programme provides research and development funding to farmers and growers who want to develop and use new, innovative methods and technologies.  The aim of the fund is to support farmers to become more productive, environmentally sustainable and resilient to the global food security challenges of the future. You might remember that alongside UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) we launched the first rounds of funding in October, and 2 more in March. In this post, I’ll share information about our latest funding opportunity: the Research Starter Projects Competition.

The Farming Innovation Programme in 2022

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Cutting silage near wind farm Askham in Furness Cumbria

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 look out for this year.

Future Farming Podcast: Government-funded innovation

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.

Future Farming Podcast: Tim Parton on nitrogen-fixing bacteria and nutrient-dense food 

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Conversations we're having, Future Farming Podcast

In the sixth episode of the Future Farming Podcast, Programme Director Janet Hughes talks to Tim Parton. Tim is Farm Manager at Brewood Park Farm, Staffordshire, where he manages 300 hectares using regenerative agriculture methods. Find out how Tim moved to no-till, reduced insecticide and fungicide use and brewed his own nitrogen-fixing bacteria.