Could your land benefit from new peatland funding?

Defra has opened three new grant schemes that land managers in England with peat can apply for, together totalling £47.15m in funding. The funding covers three programmes aimed at building skills in peatland management, increasing technical understanding of how to farm on wetter lowland peat soils, and investing in water management infrastructure to raise water tables on lowland peat.

The majority of this funding is for lowland peat. It forms part of a considerable Defra-led programme of research and capacity-building to establish what forms of farming are possible on rewetted peat soils (known as ‘paludiculture’).

Modelling used by Defra suggests that lowland agricultural peat causes around 3% of England’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, explaining the considerable focus given to this type of land management.

We encourage CLA members and land managers to apply and be actively involved in this emerging land-use: the results from this research are likely to shape future policy, and the learnings can help businesses to explore what options they may have available for farming on wetter, more resilient peat.

• Purpose: This grant aims to improve the size and capacity of the workforce for peat restoration through apprenticeships, upskilling of existing workers and attracting new entrants – alongside general capacity building. It can subsidise training courses, apprenticeship and internships, cover the costs of events in schools and universities and contribute to the purchase of equipment.
• Eligibility: Any business involved in lowland or upland peatland restoration can apply.
• Total budget: £1.15m, split into four rounds from 2026-2030, which will open each summer.
• Budget available in 2026: £250,000
• Maximum allocation per applicant: £20,000
• Administered by: Defra
• Deadline: 10am on 23 July 2026
• More information: available here

• Purpose: This grant has two strands. First, it aims to improve the market readiness of key paludicultural crops (perennial reeds, Pragmites; bullrush, Typha; and sphagnums), particularly in terms of machine development for harvesting and processing the crops, getting the crops the market and producing higher-value products from them. Second, it aims to support growing food crops with an existing market in wetter soils.
• Eligibility: Any organisation (including private businesses) that has agronomic expertise of growing crops on lowland peatland soils.
• Total budget: Up to £10m, expected to be allocated in one round. Projects must be delivered by 31 March 2030.
• Maximum allocation per applicant: No maximum (or minimum) application size. Grants can cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.
• Administered by: Natural England
• Deadline: 5pm on 21 August 2026
• More information: Available here

• Purpose: This grant will fund infrastructure to control and safely raise water levels in drained lowland peat soils, with a principal purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Early-stage feasibility studies are not eligible.
• Eligibility: Land managers, local authorities, Internal Drainage Boards, businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations can all apply if the project will raise water tables in an area of lowland peat soils that has been drained.
• Total budget: £36m, allocated in at least two rounds. Projects must be completed by 31 March 2030.
• Number of rounds: A second round is expected to be available in summer 2028.
• Maximum allocation per applicant: £100,000-200,000 per project. Grants can cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.
• Administered by: Environment Agency
• Deadline: Midnight on 18 September 2026
• More information: Available here

These grants sit alongside a further £38m in funding for peatlands between 2026 and 2030 which the government has committed to in its Environmental Improvement Plan. Other grant schemes that have closed include the Lowland Peat Water Discovery Grant and the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme.