New funding opportunities for farming innovation: what rural businesses need to know

Delivered alongside UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) is Defra’s funding opportunity to drive investment in innovation, research and development in UK farming. The programme opened in October 2021 as part of the Agricultural Transition Plan, with the CLA at the time welcoming plans to begin bridging “the divide between research and farm practice”.

The schemes are available for a range of applicants, including farmers, foresters and growers, as well as businesses. The outcomes for funding are broad, from early research into new opportunities to commercial deployment of new technologies.

The FIP schemes offer support for different stages of research. Innovation-focused organisations or businesses often lead projects, but they must all work with farmers and landowners as part of the application, and land managers can lead projects in some schemes.

Defra confirmed in June 2026 that an extra £53m would be invested into the FIP, taking the total investment for the 2026/27 financial year to £123m (following the initial investment of £70m announced earlier in the year). The Farming Roadmap 2050 has committed to extending the FIP to at least 2030/2031 and investing at least £200m by 2030.

FIP funding opportunities include:

Examples of previous schemes have included developing high-value hemp varieties better able to cope with changing weather (delivered through the Farming Futures fund), exploring the potential for growing hops in a controlled glasshouse environment (delivered through the ADOPT fund) and the use of artificial intelligence to detect apple canker before symptoms appear (delivered through the Feasibility Studies).

Not all opportunities have live application windows throughout the financial year. The information below provides an overview of the schemes that are open for applications in 2026. These opportunities can be found on the Farming Innovation Programme homepage, where timeframes and the current status of the schemes are outlined.

The schemes below have been organised by timeframes of when they are expected to open.

Open 15 July to 9 September

The Farming Innovation Feasibility Studies aim to investigate new on-farm or farmgate opportunities, bringing these towards commercialisation. The Farming Innovation Feasibility Study is aimed towards UK-based businesses who are looking to research opportunities that will greatly benefit the productivity, sustainability and resilience of the agricultural sector.

The project’s total cost must be between £200,000 and £500,000 and the total funding for this project round is £15m. The project must last for up to 24 months, starting by 1 January 2027 and finishing by 31 December 2028. The project must be collaborative, and one partner cannot account for more than 70% of the total project costs.

Farmers and growers must still be involved in the project to ensure that new services will work on the ground. This does not necessarily require developing projects on farms but could require farmers, forester or growers to be on an advisory board or sense-checking that a project will work during its lifetime.

Farming Innovation Feasibility Studies are focussed on the following four themes, and must address and significant industry challenge or opportunity within these:

• Farmed animals
• Plants
• Novel food production systems
• Bioeconomy and agroforestry

For further support, applicants can reach out to support@iuk.ukri.org and review the PowerPoint presentation run by Innovate UK.

Open 3 August to 30 September

The Farming Futures – Automation and Robotics grant opened on 3 August 2026 and is due to close on 30 September 2026. There is £20m in funding in this round to develop solutions for automation and robotics in agriculture. The projects, which must be collaborative, should commence by 1 March 2027 and conclude by 30 February 2030. Organisations must be UK based, both as lead organisations and as part of the project team. Full details of eligibility can be found through the competition funding page.

The level of funding will depend on the size of the organisation, but the total project cost must be between £500,000 and £2.5m. If you’re interested in applying, but need help finding a project partner, you can get in touch with Innovate UK Business Connect at enquiries@iukbc.org.uk or 03333 403 250.

The scope of the grant is to consider ambitious solutions for robotics and automation in agriculture, with the idea being that the funding will help to work on longer-term innovations. There must be, a focus on one of the following aims:

• Robotic and intelligent automated machines and systems for static or mobile operation

· Imaging, sensing and monitoring devices, including systems that collect, store and use data to support farm management decisions and automated actions

• Post-harvest automation for on farm and immediate post farm gate operations only, including horticultural and field crop preparation, packing and supply chain systems
• Intelligent systems for on farm food storage management and monitoring
• Intelligent systems for on farm energy management and monitoring

There are various themes which the Farming Futures – Automation and Robotics grant will be looking to focus on. Further information on the intended project scope can be found here.

The following key dates are important for applicants considering entry into the Farming Futures – Automation and Robotics grant Scheme:

Briefing can be watched here and event link available here.

Further information can be found through the Innovate UK website. Applicants can email support@iuk.ukri.org for general information on how to apply or call 0300 321 4357.

Round 9 of the Full ADOPT Grant Open 14 August 2026 to 7 October 2026

Round 11 of the ADOPT Facilitator Support grant is yet to be confirmed

The ADOPT scheme seeks to trial practical solutions to immediate farming productivity challenges. It is currently funding 236 projects, across a range of topics included animal health and welfare, novel proteins, agroforestry and soft fruit. There are two funding streams:

• The ADOPT Facilitator support grant
• Full ADOPT grant

ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant

The purpose of the ADOPT Facilitator support grant, which is a set £2,500, allows a potential grant applicant to engage with an external project facilitator to develop the full application. The funding is paid when the application has been submitted.

Sources of help:

• Innovate UK Business Connect provide a directory of project facilitators that farmers and land managers can reach out to when considering entry into the ADOPT programme: ADOPT project facilitators - Innovate UK Business Connect
• The ADOPT Support Hub, run by ADAS, can also assist in provide advice on shaping a project idea, support through the application process and help whilst the project is running

Alongside the ADOPT Facilitator support grant, there is the full ADOPT Grant.

Full ADOPT Grant

The full ADOPT Grant is run in rounds. The current Round 9 is open from 14 August to 23 September. There has been confirmation for a further three rounds, with each round expected to have funding of £5m. Each project’s total cost must be between £50,000 to £200,000.

ADOPT Rules and Project Guidance (Round 9)

Open 1 September to 14 October

Details for round 5 of the Defra Farming Innovation Small R&D Partnerships grant are yet to be released. However, Defra has confirmed that the grant will offer £1m to £3m for “collaborative research and development projects to create new products or services, lasting up to three years”.

The aim of this project will be to develop solution that have positive outputs for farmers, growers and foresters in commercial situations. The CLA will provide further updates on the progress of this scheme once it is available. Previous rounds have funded projects that looked at a smart sprayer for black-grass mapping, developing a herd of electric robots for horticulture and researching an autonomous livestock monitoring system.

Open Winter 2026

The Farming Futures - Soils and Water Quality scheme is due to open in winter 2026. The scheme is expected to fund “the development of technologies and practices that improve soil quality, enhance water management, increase farm profitability, and reduce pressure on natural resources”.

Defra is yet to release further information on the scheme at this time, however, the expectation that it will be a similar process to the Farming Futures – Automation and Robotics grant. The CLA will provide further updates on the progress of this scheme once it is available.

Defra's Farming Innovation Programme supports a wide range of development and adoption of new technologies, products and practices that can improve productivity, resilience and sustainability in agriculture. The programme includes opportunities for farmer-led innovation through ADOPT grants, support for collaborative research and development projects, feasibility studies and longer-term innovation funding through Farming Futures schemes.

Funding is available for projects at different stages, from exploring early ideas through to commercial deployment. Several competitions are currently open or due to launch later in 2026, providing opportunities for farmers, growers, foresters, businesses and research organisations to access support for innovative projects.

Members interested in exploring opportunities under the Farming Innovation Programme, or seeking further information on any scheme, are encouraged to contact their CLA regional adviser. They can help signpost available funding opportunities and provide guidance on the most relevant schemes for individual businesses.