The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has revealed that £225 million will be provided through capital grants in 2026, with the department warning that applications will likely exceed funding this year.
The department has encouraged farmers to prepare themselves prior to the application window, which is set to open in July.
Defra stated that an extra £75 million has been invested this year, increasing last year’s allocation of £150 million.
According to the department, the scheme provides farmers with one-off grants to deliver environmental benefits, such as improving water and air quality.
Scheme
The items, or works, available within the scheme this year will be organised into the following groups:
- Boundaries, trees and orchards;
- Water quality;
- Air quality;
- Assessments;
- Natural flood management;
- Improvements.
The complete list of items that will be available in this year’s offer has yet to be finalised, with Defra stating it will be published in May alongside the guidance ahead of the offer opening.
Defra also noted that funding limits will continue to apply to four of the six groups in the offer, with assessments and improvements being the only items without a cap.
A limit of £25,000 has been set for the water quality, air quality, and natural flood management groups, while the boundaries, trees and orchards group has been capped at £35,000.
The department advised farmers that they can apply for items from these groups up to the limit, in addition to items from the assessments or improvements group.
Similar to 2025, farmers are allowed to submit one application per Single Business Identifier (SBI) they manage.
Farmers will be regularly updated once the scheme starts to run out of funding, with Defra set to announce on their blog once 25%, 50%, and 75% of the funding has been allocated.
Preparations
The property consultancy, Strutt & Parker stated that last year’s funding allocation ran out less than a month after the opening of the application window.
With strong interest expected again this year, Rob Wilkinson, a farming consultant for Strutt & Parker, has advised farmers to prepare early so they are ready to submit as soon as the window opens in July.
He said: “Guidance notes for the 2026 round of the scheme will not be published until May, but we are assuming the list of items available will be broadly similar to previous years.
“Preparation involves checking that the business information and mapping details held by the Rural Payments Agency is up to date.
“It is also important to take the time to review cash flows and weigh up the likely returns before committing to an application.”
Wilkinson urged farmers to think long-term when submitting an application as farm businesses will need to fund the full cost of any environmental work upfront, with the grant being paid to farmers retrospectively.
Catchment
Strutt & Parker reminded farmers that some items will require support from the local Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer (CSFO) before making an application in July.
The property consultancy listed the following items which will need support from a CFSO: concrete yard renewal; hardcore tracks; self-supporting slurry store covers and sprayer load and washdown areas; and the roofing of silage clamps, collecting yards, muck heaps and slurry stores.
Wilkinson added: “Booking a visit from a CSFO at this point may be difficult – although always worth a try – as Defra has said the priority over the coming weeks will be carrying out visits that are already in the diary.
“However, if you have received CSFO support in the last two years for these items, you can use this support when you apply.”
