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Grant updates for Spring 2026

11 March 2026

There are a number of farming grants available this Spring and Summer 2026. Here we outline the key points of each grant available for farmers and when these open to help you prepare your applications.

Farming equipment and technology fund - FETF

The application window for the next round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF 2026) will open on 17th March 2026. 

The FETF fund can help improve farm productivity, animal health and welfare and your farm slurry management. A total of £50 million will be available to farmers, growers, foresters and their contractors to invest in equipment and technology. Funding costs are split across the 3 themes, with a total of 290 items available:

Farm Productivity Grants

  • £20 million for Farm Productivity: There are 70 items in the Farm Productivity which include weed wipers, rainwater harvesting, camera guided inter-row sprayers and robotic silage pushers.
  • £20 million for Animal Health and Welfare: Over 100 items are available in this round. These include many items that support product quality, productivity and constituent production. Including ventilation equipment, such as fans and chimneys to improve airflow and biosecurity equipment such as water tanks, sheeted gates and portable storage bins.
  • £10 million for Slurry Management: This grant can help you improve how you collect, store, test and apply slurry. There are 17 slurry management items available including robotic slurry collectors, flow rate monitoring and low emission spreading equipment.

Farm Productivity Grants will be approved towards the cost of specific items from specific lists within the above themes.

How to apply for fETF grants 2026

FETF farming grants range from £1,000 to £25,000 per theme. You can apply for items under more than one theme, up to a combined maximum of £75,000. A percentage of the cost of each item. The exact amount depends on the item you choose.

This will be the final standalone round of FETF in its current form.

From 2027 the government aims to simplify the application process and target funding more effectively. 

When you apply, the contact details you enter must match the details registered in the Rural Payments service, so please check your information is up to date.

Fetf Grants Application closing date

After the application window closes on 28th April 2026, all applications will be reviewed and scored. As this is a competitive fund, you may not receive all or any of the funding you apply for.

MORE on FETF 2026

Sustainable Farming Incentive - SFI

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer will be simpler, with fewer actions and less complexity while still having plenty of actions available for all farm types, so you can pick the actions that best fit your farm.

The new offer includes 71 actions, down from 102 in the SFI 24 offer. In practice, this means 31 actions have been removed (around one third of the previous offer).

Fairness and access will improve. By reducing some payment rates, introducing an area cap for the enhanced overwinter stubble action, and applying a new annual agreement cap of £100,000, this means  more farms are able to participate and benefit. These changes will also help Defra meet the Environmental Improvement Plan goal of doubling the number of farms delivering for wildlife.

How to apply for SFI grants 2026

Application windows and eligibility: To be eligible for SFI 26 (for both Windows 1 and 2) farmers should have at least 3 hectares (ha) of agricultural land.

  • Window 1 will open in June 2026 and will remain open for around 2 months – although it may close sooner if demand is high and the window 1 budget is fully allocated. It will be open to both small farms up to 50ha and also farms without an existing environmental land management (ELM) revenue agreement.
  • Window 2 will open in September 2026 for all farms. The closing date will depend on how many applications they receive.

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SFI grant amounts

Some SFI payment rates have been adjusted. The revised payment rates still follow the established approach used across SFI, based on ‘income foregone plus costs’. Key reduction include:

  • CSAM3: Herbal leys from £382/ha to £224/ha

  • CAHL2: Winter bird food from £853/ha to £648/ha

  • CNUM3: Legume fallow from £593/ha to £532/ha

CHRW1 - Assess and record hedgerow condition and CHRW3 - Maintain or establish hedgerows have been removed but will included with the capital grant offer.

The offer for the SFI management payment will no longer be available. It was intended as a time-limited payment to support farmers transitioning into the new scheme. This measure will release more funding so we can offer more agreements.

Details of SFI and what to expect

The 71 actions of the SFI 26 is extensive. Sustainable Farming Incentive Guidance can be found here:

More on SFI Guidance

Countryside Stewardship Capital grants

The Countryside Stewardship Capital grants are due to reopen in July 2026, with a budget of £225 million. It is likely that the spending caps will remain for 2026 applications:

  • £25,000 for water quality, air quality and natural flood management

  • £35,000 for boundaries, trees and orchards

It’s key to prepare applications early by mapping options, checking your RPA details are up to date and seeking Catchment Sensitive support early.

Need help with farm grant applications?

If you would like any advice or assistance on the various farm grants that are available this Spring and Summer, we'd be delighted to help. Please contact our farm consultants on 01666 817 278.

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