Guidance

Claim your Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2026 grant payment

Published 24 February 2026

Applies to England

If you’ve accepted one or more Grant Funding Agreements (GFAs) under the FETF 2026, follow this guidance and make sure you claim your payment by midday on 20 January 2027.

You’ll need to submit a separate claim for each GFA, after you’ve paid for and received all the items in that GFA.

You must use the claim form provided with the relevant GFA and you must include all the items from that GFA in your claim. You can only submit one claim for each grant theme.    

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will pay each grant claim as a separate payment. Partial payments are not available.

RPA will only pay for:

• eligible items in your GFA, which may not be all the items included in your application
• items that you’ve bought after you receive your GFA (unless you’re using a refundable deposit)

1. Change your GFA   

You must have prior written approval from RPA to make changes to items in your GFA.

If you want to remove or change an item in your GFA before you submit your claim, you must contact RPA as soon as possible. For example, if you cannot source the item, the item is no longer financially viable for your business, or you want to change it to one with a similar or higher specification.

You must send an email to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk before the claim deadline which is midday 20 January 2027, and include: 

• the make, model and quantity of each item
• the make and model you want to replace the items with (if applicable)
• email evidence to show which suppliers you’ve tried to source the item from and their responses (if applicable)
• an explanation as to why the item is no longer financially viable for your business (if applicable)

You must include your SBI and your FETF 2026 reference number in the subject header of your email.

RPA cannot consider requests to add additional items to the agreed GFA items.

If you ask to remove or change an item, the items in your amended GFA must be between the minimum and maximum grant values of £1,000 and £25,000. This is for each of the 3 FETF 2026 grant themes: Productivity, Slurry and Animal Health and Welfare (AHW).

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

RPA will recalculate the score your application achieved. The revised total score after any items have been changed or removed must still be equal to or more than the minimum scoring threshold. If the items in your GFA no longer meet the minimum threshold for the grant theme, RPA will withdraw your GFA.    

2. How to claim

Follow these steps and submit your claim for payment by midday on 20 January 2027. 

1. Pay for the items in full – contact RPA if you cannot buy an item that’s in your GFA (see above).
2. Keep all invoices and bank statements for the items you buy.
3. When you have received all the items listed in your GFA, complete the claim form that was sent to you with the GFA and email it to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk by midday on 20 January 2027. You must include the supporting evidence listed below and you must send it from a registered email address that is linked to your SBI.

We will not accept claims received after the claim deadline, which is midday on 20 January 2027. You must submit a separate claim form and supporting evidence for each grant theme you’ve applied for.

You’ll receive an acknowledgement email from the Rural Payments service when you submit your claim. If you do not receive an email, please contact RPA for help.

Contact RPA if you need help to: 

• submit your claim or supporting evidence 
• correct a mistake after you’ve submitted your claim 

Email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or call the RPA helpline on 03000 200 301 and select the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund option.  

We can only use registered contact details if we need to contact  you. You must check and update your email address and contact details in the Rural Payments service.

3. Submit evidence with your claim  

Submit the following evidence with your completed claim form: 

• copies of invoices for items you buy  
• copies of your redacted business bank, building society or business credit card statements which shows the items have been paid in full 
• photographic evidence of each item  

Your evidence must meet the requirements set out below. RPA may reject all or part of your claim if you do not submit the correct evidence. 

RPA cannot accept evidence sent using secure data transfer sites on the internet, for example OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive or Apple iCloud.

Send your claim form and evidence to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk. You need to complete and submit a claim form for each grant theme you’ve applied for.

3.1 Invoices  

Invoices must: 

• clearly show the cost of each item separately
• clearly show the cost of any optional extras separately
• include the manufacturer’s make and model 
• quote the relevant FETF 2026 item code from the item and specification list  
• be addressed to the same individual or business as your GFA 
• show the supplier’s name, address, VAT number and date  
• be marked by your supplier to show you used a refundable deposit to buy the item, if applicable  
• clearly show delivery and installation costs separately, as these are not eligible for funding

If the invoices you provide do not meet the criteria above, it may delay or prevent RPA from paying your claim. 

If the invoice includes items that are not in your GFA, you must clearly show which items you’re claiming for.  

If you have a supplier account and you’ve used it to pay more than one invoice, you’ll need to provide copies of all the invoices included in the payment.

3.2 Payment evidence 

Use your business account or credit card (if you can show it has been paid by your business account) to pay for items.  

You cannot use the following to pay for grant-funded items:  

• cash or your personal account  
• lease or hire purchase 
• part exchange     

You must submit copies of your redacted bank, building society or credit card statement so RPA can check invoices have been paid in full by the business named in the GFA.   

If the transaction amount on your bank statement does not match the invoice amount, you’ll need to provide either: 

• copies of invoices for the other items you’ve bought  
• a copy of the monthly statement showing the other items you’ve bought, if you have a supplier account 

You can use screenshots from an online account showing redacted payment details and bank or building society logos, or a certified report printed from a banking system. We cannot accept edited bank statements.

Make sure you redact any sensitive information on your bank statement or cheque book stub before sending it to us. This means covering your details with a solid black box or blurring the text, so it is unreadable. Keep your name and the last 4 digits of your bank account number visible so we can identify you.

Redacted bank statements must show the: 

• bank or building society’s name and logo 
• account holder name in full or account holder’s business name
• last 4 digits of your account number / IBAN number
• transaction date 
• transaction type (including payee reference or cheque number) 
• transaction amount
• date bank evidence generated

If you pay for an item through a Buying Group, provide evidence to show: 

• you’ve paid the Buying Group  
• the Buying Group has paid the supplier 

This can either be an email from the supplier or a supplier statement.

3.3 Photographs  

You must submit photographs as JPEG files or images in Word documents.  Photographs must: 

• show the item on site without packaging - you will need to show the item has been installed where this is a requirement in the specification
• be clear, in focus, in colour and with no other objects in front of the item 
• be bigger than 600 × 400 pixels 
• include the make, model and serial number (use the manufacturer’s plate or operating manual) – you only need to do this if it’s required in the item specification 
• clearly show each part of the system if it’s made up of multiple parts - for example, handling systems

Photographs must not identify individuals, including employees. 

RPA may request more photographs as evidence to show the item meets the specification and is on site.  

Acceptable photograph examples  

These images are examples of acceptable photographs because they have been taken at the right distance to show the whole item.  

Acceptable photograph of a mobile cattle handling system.

Acceptable photograph of a rotating cow brush.

Unacceptable photograph examples  

This image is an example of an unacceptable photograph because the whole item is not shown.  

Unacceptable photograph of a mobile cattle handling system.

These images are examples of unacceptable photographs because they have been taken too close to the item.

Unacceptable photograph of a mobile cattle handling system.

Unacceptable photograph of a rotating cow brush.

3.4 Site visits 

After you submit a claim, your business may be selected for a site visit. RPA may visit before the grant payment is made or up to 5 years after payment. 

We will check the details you provide when you submit your application and items you buy, will be checked during the site visit. These details are included in your GFA.

4. Withdraw a claim  

You can withdraw your claim form at any time. 

If you want to withdraw your claim, you need to send an email to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk as soon as possible and explain why. 

You must include your SBI and your FETF 2026 reference number in the subject header of your email. 

5. When you will be paid

We aim to pay your claim within 60 working days of receiving it. If you do not submit the correct evidence or your claim is not complete, it may take longer to pay you. You may need to account for this if it will affect the cash flow of your business.

We will write to you if we are unable to pay your claim in part or in full and we will tell you why. If you disagree with this decision, you should follow the RPA complaints procedure.

Payments are made to the bank or building society account attached to your business’ Single Business Identifier (SBI) number that is registered in the Rural Payments service.

We will send you a remittance advice when you’ve been paid.

5.1 After you’ve been paid   

RPA may recover some, or all, of your payment if you do not meet the following conditions for 5 years from the date your claim was paid. 

You must:  

• keep grant funded items at the location stated in your GFA  
• keep items operational and in good repair  
• use items for the same purpose as set out in your application  
• replace items if they are no longer in working condition 

If there’s a change in circumstances which could affect your rights and obligations under the GFA, including any change to your business structure, you must tell RPA as soon as possible.  

You must keep paperwork associated with your GFA for 7 years from the date your claim was paid.

6. Contact details

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

• email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk – include your SBI, FETF 2026 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