Grant funding for farm kit and research – how it works
© Istockphoto Grants open next week for equipment, technology and small infrastructure to boost productivity, improve slurry management and enhance animal health and welfare.
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) will allocate up to £47m to farm businesses in England in the latest round of this popular scheme.
Grants of £1,000-£25,000 will cover between 40% and 50% of the total cost of items from a long list of kit.
See also: Grants available for farms in England’s protected landscapes
Applications are scored on their productivity and environmental benefits, along with the level of adoption by the industry.
Funding will be given first to the highest scoring applications until it is all allocated.
Direct drills are the first item on the productivity list © MAG/Oliver Mark
However, no minimum score has been set – this will be done by the Rural Payments Agency once all applications are in.
While many of the items are the same or similar to those in previous FETF rounds, advisers recommend a careful check of the lists, as some have changed.
“There are fewer items on the eligible list, some of the specifications have changed and so has the scoring on some items,” says Megan Rogers, a chartered surveyor with land agent Berrys.
© Bill Harper
Improve application scores
Applications can gain a bonus score or uplift in certain circumstances, for example, under the animal health and welfare section, through showing that an application has been discussed with a vet.
For either a productivity or slurry grant, or both, if a single business identifier (SBI) has received less than £10,000 of productivity and slurry funding from any previous FETF rounds, its score can be increased by 25%.
FETF – key points
- Applications open on 29 May and close at midday on 10 July 2025
- Productivity and slurry measures will get up to £30m of grants
- Animal health and welfare will be eligible for £16.7m of grant funding
- Maximum grant in all three categories is £25,000
- Deposits (refundable) of up to 50% before VAT are allowed in order to secure a piece of equipment – these must be clearly documented on the sales paperwork
- A grant funding agreement will be sent to successful applicants by the Rural Payments Agency – full payment must not be made until this has been received
- Grants are available to farmers, horticulturalists, forestry owners and contractors carrying out services to the above businesses
- FETF animal health and welfare grants are only available to those with beef or dairy cattle, sheep, pigs, laying chickens and broiler chickens (including rearing and breeding farms)
- Businesses can apply for funding in all three streams, up to the maximum £25,000 in each stream
- Items must be new or ex-display. An item with a higher specification can be bought, for example, a 6m drill can be bought – if the minimum specification is listed as 3m, as long as all other criteria for the item are met
- Items from a supplier or manufacturer linked to the applicant business are not eligible
- Evidence of business viability will be needed to support applications
- The starting point for an application is rpagrants.defra.gov.uk/welcome/
Adopt fund supports innovative on-farm projects
A further fund opened in late April, with a farmer-led approach to smaller-scale innovation grants, for farm businesses and growers to trial new technology and methods.
The Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (Adopt) fund is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme and aims to bridge the gap between innovation and on-farm application.
Its principles are to support projects which improve productivity, resilience, sustainability and progression towards net-zero farming, so it has very wide scope, says consultant William Waterfield of the Farm Consultancy Group.
He sees it as a chance, in the face of rapidly falling farm support, to innovate without great cost and risk to farm businesses, perhaps to gain them a bigger share of the value in the chain.
“It offers an opportunity to bring in expertise and join organisations, researchers and commercial companies with farmers,” he says.
“Farmers should ask what problems they would like to solve, what burning questions they would like answered on their farms.
“The chances are there’s someone else with the same issue or question. Alternatively, they may have heard of someone else doing something and think ‘that might work for me’.”
The fund offers support grants of up to £2,500 to help applicants explore their idea and work with a project facilitator to shape a strong proposal.
Full grants of up to £100,000 are available to support farmer-led, collaborative research and innovation projects over six to 24 months.
Adopt is designed to put practical on-farm experimentation and innovation directly in the hands of farmers, says Soil Association initiative Innovative Farmers.
It aims to support a wide range of innovations, from sustainable farming practices to on-farm trials.
This could be through improved data recording and utilisation, or through the adoption of technology such as artificial intelligence and automation.
It can also include adopting different approaches to soil, nutrient or water management on farm.
The programme has a total budget of £20.6m, with £2m available in this first round.
Help to gain Adopt support
Support to help those interested in Adopt funding is available through Adas, in association with the UK Agri-Tech Centre and Innovative Farmers (part of the Soil Association).
The support hub is there to help farmers, growers, and foresters understand whether their ideas fit the fund.
It will also help with funding applications and accessing expert support to help set up and manage on-farm trials successfully.
It will also help to connect farmers with facilitators, advisers and peers to promote collaboration.
Insights and results will also be shared with the wider farming community through the hub.
FETF considerations and advice
- Can the business really afford, and does it really need, the items? Don’t be tempted to invest on the basis of grant aid – applicants still have to pay for the kit in full before the grant cash comes in.
- Could a piece of kit be tested through using a contractor first, or by hiring or borrowing before an expensive decision is made, especially where this involves a change of technique or system?
- Items must continue to be owned for at least five years from the date the full payment is made.
- Make sure the address on the invoice is the same as the one in the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) system – while mistakes can be catered for, it is a time-consuming process.
- Comply with the requirements “you must” do, for example for all photographs requested by the RPA.
- Make sure payment for the items is made from the correct bank account linked to the claim, in order to prove ownership.
- Applications can be amended – for example, if four items are applied for but ultimately only three are taken forward.
Source: Berrys