Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a share of up to £5 million for on-farm trial and demonstration projects, to improve adoption of new ideas or solutions in the agricultural sector.
Competition opens: Thursday 5 February 2026
Competition closes: Wednesday 8 April 2026 11:00am
Description
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will invest up to £5 million for on-farm trials and farm experiment projects.
This funding is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to support innovative, on-farm trials or experiments to test ideas or solutions and demonstrate that they will address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities.
Your project must have the potential to significantly improve one or more of the following:
- productivity
- resilience
- sustainability and progression towards net zero farming
Your proposal must demonstrate to other English farmers, growers or foresters how the idea or solution will be of benefit to them.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Your project
If your application passes the technical assessment, any awards given to primary agricultural producers are subject to the green box exemption under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.
See further guidance on green box subsidies WTO Guidance for support in Agriculture. Applicants receiving this type of support must ensure that there is minimal to no distortion of trade and comply with the requirements of Annex 2 of the Agriculture Agreement.
Your project must:
- have total costs between £50,000 and £100,000
- last between 6 and 24 months
- start by 1 September 2026
- end by 31 August 2028
- embrace open innovation principles and be willing to share results with other farmers, growers or foresters
- have a Project Facilitator as part of the project team who is listed in the ADOPT Innovate UK Business Connect database
- collaborate with at least one other UK farmer, grower or forester
Scope
Your Proposal
The aim of this competition is to support innovative on-farm trials or experiments to test ideas or solutions and demonstrate that they will address major on-farm or immediate post farmgate challenges or opportunities.
Your project must have the potential to significantly improve one or more of:
- productivity
- resilience
- sustainability and progression towards net zero farming
Your project must focus on testing and trialling ideas or solutions that are either new or not yet widely used.
You must demonstrate to other English farmers, growers or foresters how the project will benefit them.
You must outline how you will communicate and share the outputs from your trial or experiment during and after your project.
We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, technological maturity, markets, theme, practices and processes, farming sectors and regions. We call this a portfolio approach.
Specific Themes
Your project must address a significant industry challenge or opportunity in at least one or more of the following sectors:
- agriculture
- horticulture
- agro-forestry
Research Categories
We will fund industrial research projects as defined in the guidance on categories of research.
Projects We Will Not Fund
We are not funding projects that:
- do not benefit farmers, growers or foresters in England
- are based on funded crop variety plot trials
- are based on existing demonstration trials or projects
- are for the production of crops or plants for medicinal or pharmaceutical use
- are for cultivated meat
- are based on equine systems
- involve wild caught fisheries
- involve aquaculture, such as algae and seaweed for human consumption
- involve fermentation systems for bacteria, yeast or fungi for human consumption
We cannot fund projects that are:
- dependent on export performance, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it exports a certain quantity of bread to another country
- dependent on domestic inputs usage, for example, giving a subsidy to a baker on the condition that it uses 50% UK flour in their product
Dates
- 05 February 2026 Competition opens
- 08 April 2026 11:00am Competition closes
- 05 May 2026 Recorded briefing scope and process: watch the scope recording and watch the process recording
- 15 May 2026 Applicants notified
- 01 September 2026 Project start from
How to Apply
You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start.
Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure:
- that all the information provided in the application is correct
- your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria
- all sections of the application are marked as complete
- that all partners have completed all assigned sections and accepted the terms and conditions (T&Cs)
You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline.
What we ask you
The application is split into three sections:
- Project details.
- Application questions.
- Finances.
Explore Grant Opportunities with Expert Guidance
Interested in learning more about this grant competition and how it can benefit your project?
Click here to book a consultation or send a message to discuss the details and explore how you can maximise your chances of success. If you’re seeking support in crafting a compelling application, our experts are here to help. Let’s collaborate to navigate the competition process and unlock new opportunities for your business.
