Farm grants by area

Farm grants in Northern Ireland

43 grants, payments, free help services and buyers for farms in Northern Ireland, checked every day.

Agents and marketplaces 2

• UK Land Carbon Registry and WCC 'projects you can buy' list OpenWoodland Carbon Code / UK Land Carbon Registry (S&P Global)The official registry where validated woodland and peatland projects are listed; you can advertise units for sale on the WCC developer page or the registry's request-for-information platform, or sell through listed retail aggregators.
• Woodland Carbon Code retail aggregators (carbon brokers) Open all yearVarious: ACT, Avon Energy Partners, Balance, C Zero Markets, Carma, Climate Impact Partners, ClimatePartner, cur8, EcoAct (SE Advisory Services), firstclimate, Forest Carbon, Highland Carbon, Nature Broking, South PoleCompanies named by the Woodland Carbon Code that sell woodland carbon units to corporate buyers on behalf of project developers and landowners.

Woodland carbon 3

• Forest Carbon (woodland and peatland carbon) OpenForest Carbon LtdDevelops woodland and peatland carbon projects with landowners, certifies them under the UK codes and finds buyers or sponsors to fund planting and restoration.
• Woodland Carbon (buys your woodland carbon) OpenWoodland TrustThe Woodland Trust covers planting costs and buys the carbon units from new native woodland you plant, paying in stages.
• Woodland Carbon Code (selling woodland carbon units) OpenForestry Commission (UK standard)Register new woodland so you can sell carbon units to buyers on the open market.

Peatland carbon 1

• Peatland Code (selling peatland carbon units) OpenIUCN UK Peatland Programme (not a government page)Standard for selling carbon units from peat restoration.

Farm schemes and payments 12

• Farming with Nature Higher Scheme 2027 OpenDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 30 October 2026Interim invite-only scheme to keep favourable management of high-value farmland in designated sites and priority habitats between agri-environment schemes.
• Suckler Cow Scheme OpenDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 31 March 2027Payment for suckler calvings that meet targets for age at first calving and calving interval. Part of the Beef Sustainability Package.
• Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) Scheme Open all yearDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Annual payment for clean beef cattle, born and bred in Northern Ireland and registered on NIFAIS, slaughtered at or below a falling maximum age. Part of the Beef Sustainability Package.
• CAFRE Themed Groups (B.E.E.F. finishing and suckler cow fertility) Open all yearCAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise), part of DAERAShort-term CAFRE groups with mentoring, peer learning and KPIs, linked to the Beef Carbon Reduction and Suckler Cow schemes.
• Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) 2027 Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 15 May 2027The second year of the Farm Sustainability Payment, claimed on the 2027 Single Application.
• Farming with Nature Landscape Projects Scheme Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 4 December 2026Funding for groups of farmers and partners to deliver landscape-scale habitat and biodiversity projects that cannot be done on a single farm.
• Farming with Nature Protected Habitats and Species Scheme Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Planned targeted agri-environment scheme for farmers managing designated sites and other priority habitats and species.
• Farm Sustainability Payment (FSP) 2026 ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 9 June 2026The main annual area payment in Northern Ireland, paid on payment entitlements. It replaced the Farm Sustainability Transition Payment (which had replaced the Basic Payment Scheme) from 1 January 2026.
• Farming with Nature Transition Scheme (Year 2) ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 31 July 2026Payments for environmental actions such as new hedges, riparian buffer strips, winter stubble, cover crops, farmland trees, arable margins and herbal leys. Replaces the Environmental Farming Scheme.
• Protein Crops Scheme (pilot) ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 15 May 2026Payment for growing peas, field beans and sweet lupins, claimed on the Single Application.
• Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme (SFIS) ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 3 September 2026Capital grant for a pre-set list of equipment and technology, including low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE), to cut ammonia, greenhouse gases and nutrient losses. The current capital grant for farms in Northern Ireland, in place of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme.
• Young Farmers' Payment (existing claimants only) ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Annual top-up to the Farm Sustainability Payment for young farmers who set up as head of holding. Closed to new applicants.

Animals and animal health 4

• Bovine Genetics Project (registration and training) OpenDAERA with Sustainable Ruminant Genetics (SRG); training by CAFRE · Closes 15 May 2028Herd and animal breeding reports for dairy and beef herds through the SRG user portal, plus short CAFRE training on using genetic data.
• NI Bovine Genetics Genotyping Scheme OpenDAERA with Sustainable Ruminant Genetics (SRG) · Closes 15 May 2028Subsidy towards genotyping cattle from a tissue tag sample, as part of the Bovine Genetics Project.
• Brucellosis compensation AutomaticDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Compensation for reactors and negative in-contact cattle slaughtered for brucellosis control.
• TB reactor compensation AutomaticDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Compensation for cattle removed as TB reactors under DAERA's TB control programme.

Water, rivers and soil 1

• Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) ClosedDAERA with AFBI (soil sampling) and CAFRE (training) · Closes 7 September 2026Free soil sampling and analysis of every field, nutrient run-off hotspot maps, a farm carbon estimate and CAFRE nutrient management training.

Trees and woodland 4

• Woodland Investment Grant: Restocking OpenDAERA Forest ServiceGrant to restock existing woodland after felling, to improve species diversity and resilience to climate change.
• MOREwoods Open all yearWoodland TrustSite visit, woodland design, trees and protection, and funding for new woodland of at least half a hectare.
• Small Woodland Grant Scheme Coming soonDAERA Forest ServiceGrant to plant new native woodland of 0.2 ha or more, with a fixed area payment for establishment, a fencing grant and annual premia.
• Forest Expansion Scheme ClosedDAERA Forest Service · Closes 19 October 2026Grant for new woodland of 3 ha or more that meets the UK Forestry Standard, including timber and native woodland.

Old buildings and heritage 1

• National Lottery Heritage Grants £10,000 to £250,000 Open all yearNational Lottery Heritage FundGrants for projects that look after heritage, including landscapes and nature, and open it up to the public.

Equipment, innovation and business 7

• Innovation Visits and Innovation Farms Open all yearDAERA, delivered through CAFREGroup visits to see innovative farming practice outside Northern Ireland, and visits to local Innovation Farms.
• Farm Resilience Programme and other farm programmes Check it’s runningThe Royal Countryside Fund (formerly the Prince's Countryside Fund)Free business and environmental training for family farms, including Farm Resilience, Routes to Regen, Savings in Soil and Working with Water.
• Horticulture Pilot Scheme Check it’s runningDAERA, delivered through CAFREPilot support for production horticulture: Innovation Driver and Support (capital for new crops, technologies or systems), Sustainable Sector Growth Groups, and Growers' Training and Support.
• Supporting Rural Communities grants Check it’s runningThe Royal Countryside FundGrants to groups for young people, community projects, farm succession and rural resilience.
• Farm Business Improvement Scheme Capital (FBIS-C) Tier 2 ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) · Closes 20 May 2022Capital grant for larger farm construction projects and higher-value equipment (projects from £30,000), under the NI Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.
• Innovation Partnerships (Farming for Sustainability - Innovation) ClosedDAERA, delivered through CAFRE · Closes 12 June 2026Funding for farmer-led operational groups working with researchers or industry experts on innovative projects.
• Rural Business Development Grant Scheme 2026/2027 ClosedDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Small capital grants for rural micro-enterprises, under the Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation framework.

Advice and support 7

• CAFRE Business Sustainability Groups OpenCAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise), part of DAERAEnterprise-specific farmer groups led by a CAFRE adviser, with benchmarking, analytical testing and one-to-one support on economic and environmental sustainability.
• CAFRE advisers, benchmarking and technical support Open all yearCAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise), part of DAERACAFRE (part of DAERA) supports farmers through industry training, knowledge and technology transfer, benchmarking and business development planning, with technical pages and calculators for each sector.
• Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) Open all yearFarm Safety FoundationFree farm safety and mental health resources and training aimed at farmers under 40.
• Farming in Partnership (Rural Support) Open all yearRural Support, funded by DAERALinks farmers without a family successor with new entrants, to explore partnership arrangements.
• Rural Support Farm Business Support Open all yearRural Support (Northern Ireland farm support charity)Help for farmers and farm families to work through farming, business, financial and personal challenges.
• Carbon Footprinting Project Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Planned project for farm carbon footprints, with registration and CAFRE training expected to become an FSP conditionality.
• Farming for the Generations (main scheme) Coming soonDAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs)Succession support for farm families: planning for succession, developing the successor and supporting the lead generation.

Money and hardship help 1

• Rural Support helpline Open all yearRural Support (Northern Ireland farm support charity)Free, confidential support line and help for farmers and farm families with money worries, business problems, stress, bereavement and succession, plus an online Farm Support Hub.