Round up of latest Defra grants and competitions
For those who are advising on farm or looking for research and development opportunities, the Government recently announced a number of competitions and grants to support farmers to innovate, boost productivity and improve animal welfare.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced up to £45 million in competitions and grants opening in the coming weeks which aim to support farmers with innovation, boost productivity and improve animal welfare.
Visit Defra's Farming Blog for the latest information.
The various grants and competitions are summarised below.
Slurry Infrastructure grant
Farmers can now apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant of between £25,000-£250,000 from a total fund of £74 million available to those who want to improve their slurry storage.
This includes funding for a range of different types of slurry store, slurry store cover, including retrofitting to existing stores, and other equipment, such as grants towards slurry separators - all withthe aim of helping to tackle water pollution and improving air quality.
The Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund
From 11 December, farmers can apply for individual grants up to £100,000 to prepare nature projects that will attract investment from the private sector from a total of £5 million. This fund seeks to help farmers to attract investment from the private sector.
For more information, go to Defra's blog.
Farming Innovation Programme - Research Starter competition
Farmers and growers in England will be able to apply for a share of a Defra £850,000 Research Starter fund from 18 December.
This seeks to encourage innovative new projects which have the potential to move the agricultural sector to net zero.
Farming Investment Fund - Improving Farm Productivity grant
From January 2024, businesses can apply for an initial share of £30 million, providing capital grants of £25,000-£500,000 towards robotic and automatic equipment, with further funding potentially being made available depending on levels of interest.
There will also be grants of £15,000-£100,000 towards solar equipment which can be fitted on rooftops and float on irrigation reservoirs, helping to increase energy resilience and take-up of renewable energy generation on farms.
Farming Innovation Programme - Large R&D competition
Businesses will be able to apply for a share of the £7.8 million Large Research and Development fund, which supports industrial research or experimental development projects. The programme opens on 15 January 2024.
Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT)
The Farming Innovation Programme grants will also include the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) fund, due to launch later in 2024, where businesses will be able to apply for a share of £44 million to test and trial new technology and techniques on farms.
Prepare for 2024
In 2024, Defra plans to extend the range of Farming Innovation Programme grants to include an Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies grant.
This will see businesses able to apply for a share of £44 million to test and trial new technology and techniques on farms.
These grants will help businesses to boost farm productivity, reduce waste and cut input costs, as well as increase environmental sustainability.
For more information, visit the GOV.UK website.
Landscape Recovery: sharing the successful second-round projects
In late November, Defra announced the 34 projects that will now receive a share of £25 million in project development funding through the second round of the Landscape Recovery scheme.
These projects involve over 700 farmers and landowners working together to support over 200,000 hectares of nature and sustainable food production.
Read more about the projects on the Defra Farming Blog.
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