A Valuable Forward Look Into £53m Farming Innovation Funding

An additional £53 million has just been announced by Defra and Innovate UK to support their Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) competitions. It builds on the £70 million announced at the NFU Conference back in February, and comes with a genuinely useful forward look at their upcoming schemes.

In a very welcome move, they’ve published a timetable of ADOPT, Feasibility Studies, Small R&D, and Farming Futures rounds opening right through to winter 2026. Having a calendar of opportunities in advance is quite rare in UK grant funding, and therefore offers a real strategic advantage for anyone working in agri-tech. So use it wisely.

Why a Forward Look is so Valuable

Most grant competitions arrive with just weeks of notice (sometimes less!), and with increasingly quick turnaround times. This leaves businesses scrambling to pull together a strong consortium, a budget, and a technical case, up against the deadline from the start. It often leads to skipping or rushing the all-important project scoping and design stage we recommend is carried out diligently for all projects.

Strong ideas often lose out simply because there wasn’t time to build them properly.

However, with rounds and schemes mapped out from now through to winter, this year is different. Businesses have the time to plan properly, scope projects in detail, and build the right partnerships before each call for applications opens.

This represents a real opportunity, but only if it’s used well.

What’s Coming…

The published schedule includes multiple rounds across several strands, covering everything from early facilitator support through to full-scale R&D funding:

• ONGOING: An ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant and ADOPT Full Grant round already open, with further ADOPT rounds following through the summer and into autumn.
• 15 JULY 2026: A Feasibility Studies round opening in July, for testing whether an innovation works in practice.
• 3 AUGUST: A Farming Futures (Automation and Robotics) round opening in August, supporting robotics and automation development.
• 1 SEPTEMBER 2026: A Small R&D round opening at the start of September, offering £1 million to £3 million for collaborative development projects lasting up to 3 years.
• WINTER 2026: A Farming Futures (Soils and Water Quality) round expected in Q4 2026.

Each strand suits a different stage of development and a different type of technology and business, which makes early planning even more important. Applying to the right competition, at the right time, with the right partners, is often the difference between a funded project and a missed opportunity.

Making the Most of this Forward Look

Knowing what’s coming is only useful if you act on it. So make the most of this opportunity whilst you can.

Here are a few things we at Tatton Consulting encourage agri-tech businesses to do now, ahead of these schemes opening:

• Map your project against the right strand: Feasibility, ADOPT, Small R&D and Farming Futures all target different stages of development and different problems. Choosing the right strand and angle is key to ensuring you don’t fall at the initial eligibility stage. (You’d be surprised how many applications fail at this stage).
• Start consortium conversations early: Collaborative funding needs the right partners, not just any partners. Use the coming weeks to identify who brings genuine technical or on-farm value, rather than assembling a consortium under deadline pressure. And start having those all-important conversations, so partners are lined-up and committed from the get-go.
• Gather your evidence: Whether it’s early trial data, farmer demand, or a clear technical rationale, having this supporting data ready to go allows you to move faster as soon as the competition opens, serving as the key foundation for the narrative you’ll need to build throughout your application. Get your evidence sorted early, and your story will flow nicely.
• Define your commercial narrative: Assessors want to see a credible story, not just a good technology. This takes time to get right, and time is exactly what this forward look gives you. Start thinking about your route-to-market, customer segmentations and even requesting Letters of Intent or Support from potential customers. It’s easier to secure these now, rather than scrambling around for them the day before the deadline.

Free Scoping Support for Agri-TechE Members

Tatton Consulting has an established track record securing funding for innovative start-ups and SMEs across Innovate UK and Defra programmes, including £15 million+ for agriculture, food, and agri-tech projects.

With 30+ years of sector-leading expertise, we know what strong applications look like, and we know how to help businesses use time like this wisely. And with a run of competitions now mapped out for the rest of the year, there’s never been a better moment to plan ahead.

That’s why we’re offering all fellow Agri-TechE members a free Scoping and Eligibility Call. A straightforward conversation to discuss your project, work out which upcoming scheme is the right fit, and start building towards a strong application well before the deadline pressure hits.

This is alongside our existing Member Benefit of a “No-Win No-Fee” option for our full grant writing support service.

So don’t miss your opportunity to get ahead of the game this summer – visit tattonconsulting.co.uk to find out more, or email funding@tattonconsulting.co.uk to book your call.

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