Increasingly, successful farming businesses are focusing on cost of production, specialising in identifiable quality or diversifying. There is a real opportunity to secure grant aid for diversification whilst this is still EU funded.

Estates and landowners should grasp the opportunity to broaden business ventures, which can grow to compliment agriculture as it comes under increasing pressure and can no longer be the income provider it used to be.

There are currently a variety of grant funding opportunities available for Farmers and Landowners which include the following:

Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)

RDPE grants, administered by Local Enterprise Partnerships, are focussed on helping existing and new rural businesses to expand, diversify and to create more rural jobs. The available funding focusses on three different areas:

• Business Development
• Food Processing
• Rural Tourism

The Business Development Grant will normally cover up to 40% of a projects total eligible costs, minimum grant funding varies depending on the Local Enterprise Partnership but starts from &35,000 up to a maximum of &170,000.

The application process is competitive and applicants will be subject to a rigorous 2 part application process, starting with an Expression of Interest. If successful, applicants will then be invited to submit a full application. The application process is now open and closes on 31 January 2018.

Further information can be found here

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides financial incentives for land managers to look after their environment through activities such as:

• conserving and restoring wildlife habitats
• flood risk management
• woodland creation and management
• reducing widespread water pollution from agriculture
• keeping the character of the countryside
• preserving features important to the history of the rural landscape
• encouraging educational access

The scheme is:

• open to all eligible farmers, woodland owners, foresters and other land managers
• suitable for many types of land use including conventional and organic farmland, coastal areas, uplands and woodlands
• competitive
• scored against local priority targets to maximise environmental benefit

There are 3 main elements to the scheme:

• Mid Tier
• Higher Tier
• Capital Works

Funding through CS also supports works to woodlands and includes:

• Creation of new woodland
• Improvement of existing woodland
• Support of the preparation of Woodland Management Plans
• Addressing tree and woodland health issues

Countryside Productivity

Woodland owners and forestry contractors can apply to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for  the Countryside Productivity grant to improve forestry productivity.

The application can be for either:

• a small grant of between &2,500 and &35,000, or
• a large grant of between &35,000 and &1,000,000

Funding through Countryside Productivity can include funding for:

• winches and associated equipment for extraction (including skyliners)
• self-propelled wood chippers
• tractor-mounted firewood processors
• mobile saw benches or saw mills

Fisher German have a wealth of experience in securing grant funding for rural businesses and are currently working on outline applications as well as full LEADER and Countryside Stewardship applications for clients considering a wide variety of projects. 

To find out more about the grant process and whether your business might be eligible for funding, contact Tom Heathcote 07918 628983 or email here

Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdpe-growth-programme