Act now’ advised as strong demand likely for farm grants

With an anticipated rapid uptake of a suite of new agricultural grants in England, farmers who hope to secure funding are urged to act quickly.

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2026, now open to applicants until midday on 28 April, is an important route to getting agri-tech on farm.

In addition to this, the application window for Countryside Stewardship (CS) capital grants is due to open in July 2026.

Also, although more limited in who is eligible to apply, the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme is currently open.

During a recent Brown&Co podcast, Chris Sheldon and Tom Cheer, agri-business consultants at the firm’s Lincoln office, gave their expert advice on what is currently on offer.

The FETF provides grants equivalent to about 40% of the cost of items associated with increased farm productivity, animal health and welfare, and slurry management.
As with previous funding rounds for this scheme, a list of eligible items is provided and successful applicants will receive a fixed amount of grant for these – in this round there are 290 items listed.

Grants range from £1,000 to £25,000 for each of the three themes and farm businesses are permitted to claim up to £75,000.

Tom noted that under the farm productivity theme, direct drills have always been a popular item.
While the grant rates for these drills have varied over the years, for this round it is fixed at £15,067.

“There are also liquid fertiliser kits, tree shears, central tyre inflation systems and various other items,’’ Tom pointed out.

“Under animal health and welfare, there are mobile handling systems for cattle and sheep, as well as weigh bars and platforms, and a whole host of items covering sheep, cattle, poultry and pigs.”

Robotic slurry pushers and collectors, dribble bars and injection systems are available along with other items under the slurry management theme.

Before a claim can be submitted, an item needs to be purchased and on the farm.
Brown&Co assists its clients with their applications for grants, and with claiming the sum they have been allocated.

“We'll need a copy of the invoice, a bank statement showing that the invoice has been paid, and a selection of photos showing the item in situ and operational,” said Tom.
In July, farmers can apply for a share of the £225m that has been ring fenced for Countryside Stewardship capital grants too.

As with the previous schemes, themes are water quality, air quality and natural flood management, each with a spending cap of £25,000, and boundaries, trees and orchards, capped at £35,000.

In the past, farm infrastructure items have been very popular.

If farmers are interested in these, some of the water quality priority areas such as concreting yards, spray wash down areas and rainwater harvesting must be signed off by a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer, said Tom.

“My advice would be to get in touch with your local Brown&Co office if some of these items are of interest and we can put you in touch with the local Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer who will visit your farm to sign off the items that you're looking at investing in, provided that the officer thinks it is eligible and that they provide a good environmental benefit to the area.

“Once that's done, you'll be in a good position to submit your application when it opens in July.”
Chris advised acting swiftly as the funding for the last CS scheme was snapped up in about five weeks.

“Those people who hadn’t got Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer approval for those items unfortunately missed out so our advice is to act quickly on that scheme,” he said.

Meanwhile, the FiPL is open for applications but this programme is limited to national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which therefore narrows down the pool of eligible applicants.

For farmers who can apply, the grant rates are generous – from 40%-100% of an item’s cost.
Applications are judged on benefits to climate, nature, and people, including access, engagement and education, as well as places and buildings therefore heritage and landscape quality.

The more the project is oriented towards people, the higher the grant intervention rate. 
In the past, applicants have built wildlife towers and delivered natural flood management by restoring ponds that deal with floodwater, among a whole array of projects.

To discuss eligibility for any of these grants or to seek help with applications, please contact your local Brown&Co office