Guidance

Apply for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2025

Published 7 May 2025

Applies to England

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2025 includes 3 grants to help you buy items to:  

• improve productivity  
• manage slurry 
• improve animal health and welfare  

You can apply for more than one grant, for items that suit your business.   

FETF 2025 is competitive. You may not receive any, or all, of the funding you apply for. 

You can apply for each of the 3 FETF 2025 grant themes: Productivity, Slurry and Animal Health and Welfare (AHW).  

You can only submit one application for each theme. Each application must be for between £1,000 and £25,000. 

Check you’re eligible

You can apply for a grant if your business is based and registered in England and you’re a: 

• farmer 
• horticulturalist 
• forestry owner 
• contractor carrying out services to farmers, horticulturalists or forestry owners 

You may be eligible to apply, even if you’ve received money from previous FETF grants or the Countryside Productivity Scheme.  

The FETF Animal Health and Welfare grant is only available if you farm any of the following:   

• beef cattle 
• dairy cattle 
• sheep 
• pigs 
• laying chickens (including rearing and breeding farms)  
• broiler chickens (including rearing and breeding farms)

Other types of livestock and poultry, including goats, ducks, turkeys, geese and gamebirds, are not eligible for funding.

Your business must be registered with the Rural Payments service and given a Single Business Identifier (SBI). If you are involved in more than one business, or have made structural changes to your business, RPA may have to review your SBI and your eligibility for a grant. RPA may cap funding, if appropriate. For example, if you make multiple applications using the same Companies House number and VAT number, they are likely to be treated as a single business for FETF 2025 and funding will be capped.    

You must submit all your FETF applications under a single correct SBI. This business will pay for, own and use the grant funded equipment. Applying under the wrong SBI can affect your claim, resulting in the refusal of your application, suspension of grant payments, or termination of your agreement.

Lump Sum Exit Scheme applicants 

You’re not eligible for FETF if you choose to leave farming through the Lump Sum Exit Scheme. However, if you’re a farmer who has been paid a lump sum but are continuing as a contractor, you can apply for FETF.  

Who cannot apply 

Government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (for example, the Ministry of Defence or the Forestry Commission) cannot apply for a grant.

Items you can apply for 

You can apply for items from the Productivity, Slurry and Animal Health and Welfare items and specifications lists. All items bought must meet the minimum specification.

All items must be new or ex display and must meet the relevant specifications in each list.  

You can buy an item with a higher specification, but you cannot buy items that do not meet the minimum specification. For example, you can buy a 6 metre (m) drill if the minimum specification is listed as 3m, as long as all other criteria for the item are met.   

If the piece of equipment meets 2 or more specifications, you can only apply for funding for one item. For example, if you want to buy a yield monitoring device, which also has variable rate control functionality, you could apply for either a yield monitoring or variable rate controller item, not both.  

You can apply for funding for similar items to those funded through other schemes, but not for the same item. For example, if you’ve received funding towards the cost of a building through another scheme, you could still apply for a FETF grant to buy machinery to put in the building.  

You may apply for an item that you’ve applied for under previous FETF grants. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will ask you to explain why you need the item. RPA will tell you if this can be included or not. You must keep items that have been funded by FETF grants for 5 years from the date your claim was paid.

Items you cannot apply for  

You cannot apply for a grant for:  

• items that are bought using part exchange
• second hand, ex-demonstration and ‘try before you buy’ items  
• items that are bought on hire purchase or on lease
• items you’ve already bought 
• items you’ve already received or intend to receive through a different scheme, for example the Farming Transformation Fund, Countryside Stewardship and the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme  
• home built items  
• items from a supplier or manufacturer who you or your business are part of or linked to in any way 
• items that are not listed, or do not meet the minimum specification  
• replacement items covered by an insurance claim  
• an item’s delivery or installation costs 
• items that are not expected to last 5 years following payment of the grant   

How much money you’ll receive

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has calculated an expected average cost for each item, based on costs from a cross-section of suppliers.   

RPA will pay you a grant amount of 40% or 50% towards either: 

• the average cost of the item – if an item costs you the same or more than the expected average cost in the item lists, or
• the actual cost you pay for the item – if an item costs you less than the expected average cost in the item lists 

You can check an item’s expected average cost and grant amount in the item and specification lists. 

If your application is successful, you’ll receive a grant of:  

• a minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of £25,000 towards productivity items  
• a minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of £25,000 towards slurry items 
• a minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of £25,000 towards animal health and welfare items     

The grant contribution does not cover the total cost of each item. It’s your responsibility to fund the remaining cost.

Business Viability 

All businesses applying for a grant must be financially viable. RPA will look at your supporting evidence to consider viability and will request a Spotlight check. A Spotlight check is the government’s online automated due-diligence tool for grant management. RPA will use this evidence to assess the current financial viability of your business. You may also be asked to provide an accountant’s certificate or equivalent. 

How funding is allocated 

RPA will allocate funding after all applications have been received and scored. You can check an item’s expected score in the items and specifications lists. 

Funding for each of the 3 grant themes will be allocated starting with the highest scoring applications until all funding is allocated. This will set the minimum score that an application must meet to receive funding for each theme (also known as the minimum threshold).

When you can apply  

You can apply for FETF 2025 online through the Farming Investment Fund service.  

The only application window for all FETF 2025 grants will open on Thursday 29 May 2025 and will close at midday on 10 July 2025. Applications submitted after this time will not be accepted.

We will update this page if further funding becomes available.

How to apply  

Follow these steps to apply for FETF: 

1. Check the specification of the items you want to apply for in the 2025 items and specifications lists – specifications may have changed from previous FETF item lists. 
2. Check the availability of the items you want to apply for with your supplier.   
3. Do not order or buy anything at this stage, unless you are paying with a refundable deposit (see below). RPA will reject your claim if you do not meet these conditions.
4. Register with the Rural Payments service, if your business is not already registered. 
5. Check and update your personal and business details in the Rural Payments service before you apply. This includes the status, partners and name of your business. Update your email address or contact details if required. Your personal record in Rural Payments must have a permission level of either ‘make legal changes’ or ‘full permissions’ for the business you are applying for. Banking details used in your claim should match this business. If any of the details held in Rural Payments are incorrect, this could affect your application.
6. Read the FETF 2025 terms and conditions.     
7. Register and log into the Farming Investment Fund service (this is separate to the Rural Payments service and requires you to complete a new registration). If you want to apply for more than one grant theme, you’ll need to submit separate applications. The service is an online system where you’ll need to complete questions about yourself and your business. Check that you are selecting the correct SBI for your business from the drop-down list. You can save your application and return to it as many times as you like before you submit it. Your application should take around 20 minutes to complete.
8. Check that the details shown on the ‘Summary’ screen are correct. This includes the details about your business and the items you have said you want to apply for. If there is a mistake, change any details that are incorrect. Once you submit your application, you cannot amend or resubmit it.
9. Submit your application by midday on 10 July 2025.
10. You’ll receive an acknowledgement email within 24 hours of applying – you may need to check your junk folder for emails about your application.  

Your application will be checked for eligibility and scored by RPA. RPA will look at your supporting evidence to consider viability and will request a Spotlight check. This is the government’s online automated due-diligence tool for grant management.  

If your application is unsuccessful, RPA will write to you to tell you why. 

If your application is successful, RPA will send you a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). GFAs for each grant theme will be sent separately.   

You must not buy any items in your application before you receive a GFA.

Use the Farming Investment Fund service to accept your GFA by the deadline set out in your GFA email. You’ll need to select each grant theme to accept each GFA. 

It’s important that you read and understand the steps you’ll need to follow to claim your FETF 2025 grant payment. 

Refundable deposits 

To help reduce possible supply issues, a supplier or manufacturer may accept a refundable deposit to reserve your items before you receive a GFA.

You can claim for a refundable deposit if it meets these conditions:

• the deposit must be for no more than 50% of the item cost, excluding VAT
• you must not pay a refundable deposit before 7 May 2025
• invoices must be marked by your supplier to show you used a refundable deposit to buy the item

RPA will reject your claim if you do not meet these conditions.

Animal Health and Welfare grant: evidence of vet advice uplift 

If you’re applying for an Animal Health and Welfare grant, you can increase your application score by 20% by providing evidence that you’ve discussed your FETF 2025 application with a vet.    

You can get vet advice by telephone, email, or as part of a vet visit. You may be eligible to apply to RPA for a funded vet visit. Read the funding to improve animal health and welfare: guidance for farmers and vets.

You must receive vet advice on your FETF 2025 application after 1 January 2025 and before you submit your application for it to be eligible to increase your score.   

When you apply, you’ll need to provide your vet’s details, the date of the discussion and permission for us to contact your vet.  

If you apply for this uplift, RPA will contact your vet to verify the information you provide.

Productivity and Slurry grants: previous funding uplift 

When you apply for a Productivity or Slurry grant tell RPA if your SBI has received less than £10,000 of Productivity and Slurry funding from any previous FETF rounds. This can increase your application score by 25%.

This applies to the total funding received from FETF Round 1 2022 (any items), FETF 2023 (Productivity and Slurry items) and FETF 2024 (Productivity and Slurry items). This does not include any funding from FETF 2023 (Animal Health and Welfare items) or FETF 2024 (Animal Health and Welfare items).

The total includes any claim that you have submitted but has not been paid at the time you submit your application. If you have not applied previously this uplift will also apply. If you apply for this uplift, RPA will check funding records to verify the information you provide.

Changing or withdrawing your application 

You can save and make changes to your application before you submit it, using the Farming Investment Fund service.  

Make sure that your application is complete before you submit it. You cannot change your application after you’ve submitted it.

If you need to withdraw your application after you’ve submitted it, email FETFEnquiries@rpa.gov.uk. Include your FETF reference number.

If you withdraw your application after you submit it, you cannot submit another application for the same theme. 

Published data on successful applications

Defra is legally required to publish data about grants made for productivity and slurry items.  

Defra will publish the following information about your grant on a searchable database on GOV.UK:  

• your business name 
• part of your business address (the post town and first four digits of the postcode) 
• the amount received and a description of the funded activities 

Defra is not required to publish this data for Animal Health and Welfare items and will publish aggregated data only.