Grants for England’s Farmers to Prepare On-Farm Innovation Trials
Defra, in collaboration with Innovate UK, is providing support through the Farming Innovation Programme for farmers, growers and foresters in England preparing Full ADOPT Grant submissions. The scheme is intended to improve application quality and encourage wider participation in innovation-related funding.
The support is aimed at individuals interested in on-farm trials or experiments that test new or emerging solutions in agriculture, horticulture or agri-forestry. Funding will be used to engage an external Project Facilitator to assist in developing Full ADOPT Grant applications.
Round 3 of funding is now available until 3rd September 2025 at 11am.
| Competition | Competition round | Opens | Closes | Status | Support Grant starts from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facilitator Support Grant | Round 3 | 24 July 2025 | 3 September 2025 | Details available | 1 December 2025 |
| Round 4 | 4 September 2025 | 15 October 2025 | Subject to change | 2 January 2026 | |
| Round 5 | 16 October 2025 | 26 November 2025 | Subject to change | 1 March 2026 | |
| Future competition dates will be posted in due course | |||||
Eligible applicants must be active farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England and able to demonstrate that they are established, including sole traders. Only single applicants may apply.
Projects must address a clear challenge or opportunity on-farm or immediately post-farmgate. They should aim to enhance productivity, sustainability or resilience, including support for net zero farming practices. Proposals must also show how findings will be relevant to others in the sector and tested under real-world conditions.
Up to £100,000 has been allocated for the scheme. Grants of £2,500 will be made available to successful applicants.
Click here to apply.