Guidance

Apply for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2026

Published 24 February 2026

Applies to England

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2026 opens for applications on 17 March 2026.

FETF 2026 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 2026 is competitive. You may not receive any, or all, of the funding you apply for. 

You can apply for each of the 3 FETF 2026 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. 

1. Key changes for FETF 2026:

• we will use the contact details that you register in the Rural Payments service to contact you, the option to use a separate correspondence address is no longer available
• all bank statements that you send with claims, must now be redacted to protect your personal data, you must remove all sensitive information from any evidence you send to us
• the Productivity and Slurry scoring uplift has been removed
• the AHW scoring uplift has been removed
• Grant Funding Agreements will be sent from a different RPA email address for FETF 2026, which is ‘no-reply@rpagrants.org.uk’. We will send them to the email address that is linked to your SBI and will also send a copy to your Customer Reference Number (CRN) email address.

2. Check if you are 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 are eligible to apply if you’ve received money from previous FETF grants or the Countryside Productivity Small Grants 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.

To apply for FETF you need to register or be registered in the Rural Payments service. Use the Register and update your details with the Rural Payments Agency guidance to help you. When you have registered you will receive 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 2026 and funding will be capped.    

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

2.1 Lump Sum Exit Scheme applicants 

You’re not eligible for FETF if you left 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.  

2.2 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.

3. 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. Ex display items must:

• have only been used for display in a showroom or shop
• not have been moved off the supplier’s premises
• not have been used for any other purpose

All items must meet the relevant minimum 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.

4. 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   

5. 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.

5.1 Business Viability 

All businesses applying for a grant must be financially viable. RPA 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. 

5.2 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 scoring threshold that an application must meet to receive funding for each theme.

6. When you can apply  

You can apply for FETF 2026 through the Farming Investment Fund service.

The application window opens for FETF 2026 on 17 March 2026 and will close at midday on 28 April 2026.

7. How to apply

To apply for FETF 2026 you need to register or be registered in the Rural Payments service. Read the Register and update your details with the Rural Payments Agency guidance to help you.

We can only use registered contact details when we contact you. You must check and update your SBI and Customer Reference Number (CRN) email addresses in the Rural Payments service.

7.1 Check you have the correct permission to apply

You need the correct permission to apply for FETF 2026 for your business (SBI). 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. Bank 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. Read more information about how to give or update permissions on GOV.UK.

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission level in the Rural Payments service: give or update permissions. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.

7.2 Register in the Farming Investment Fund service

You also need to register for the Farming Investment Fund service (this is separate to the Rural Payments service and requires you to complete a new registration). The service is an online system where you’ll need to complete questions about yourself and your business.

7.3 How to complete your application

Follow these steps to complete your application: 

1. Check the specification of the items you want to apply for in the 2026 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. Read the FETF 2026 terms and conditions.
5. Log into the Farming Investment Fund service to complete your application. Select  the correct SBI for your business from the drop-down list. Follow the on-screen help to guide you through the application. 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.
6. Check that the details shown on the ‘Summary’ screen are correct. This includes the details about your business and the items 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.
7. Submit your application by midday on 28 April 2026.
8. You’ll receive an acknowledgement email within 24 hours of applying – you may need to check your junk folder for emails about your application.  

If you want to apply for more than one grant theme, you’ll need to submit separate applications.

8. What happens next

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.   

If your application is successful, RPA will send you a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). GFAs for each grant theme will be sent separately. We will send GFAs from a ‘no-reply@rpagrants.org.uk’ mailbox for FETF 2026. We will send them to the email address that is linked to your SBI. We will also send a copy to your CRN email address. 

You must not buy any items in your application before you receive a GFA unless you pay a refundable deposit. RPA will reject your claim if you do not meet these conditions.

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 2026 grant payment.

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

8.1 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 24 February 2026
• 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.

9. 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. You can only submit your application once.

If you need to withdraw your application after you’ve submitted it, email FETFenquiries@rpa.gov.uk. Include your SBI and FETF reference number and send it from an email linked to your SBI with full permissions..

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

10. 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.

11. Contact details

Contact Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

If you have any questions, you can contact RPA by: 

• email: FETFenquiries@rpa.gov.uk – please include your SBI and your FETF reference number in the subject header
• use the ‘contact us’ button on the Farming Investment Fund Service to send a query
• telephone: 03000 200 301 - Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
• post: PO Box 324, Worksop, S95 1DF