Join our Capital Grants 2026 webinar
The 2026 Capital Grants offer is expected to open on 30 July. To help you prepare we're hosting a webinar on 22 July.
Sarah Blatchford
Sarah Blatchford is a senior policy adviser in the Future Farming CAP and Transition team which is responsible for managing Environmental and Countryside Stewardship agreements under EU and domestic terms. The team is also working closely with environmental land management colleagues in developing and delivering the new land management schemes.
Sarah has been in the Civil Service since 2003 when she joined the Department of Work and Pensions. She moved to the RPA in 2007, working on the Single Payment Scheme before moving to the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) in 2012. She joined Defra in 2016 to work on the Growth Programme which is part of the RDPE.
Sarah lives in the south-west where she enjoys photographing the beautiful landscapes and wildlife she encounters. She also enjoy history and being outside in the garden whenever possible.
Higher Tier Capital Grants: agroforestry and woodland update
From today, you can apply for agroforestry and woodland assessment items through the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer. This means these items will be available to apply for year-round, rather than only through the Capital Grants 2026 offer.
Capital Grants: get your supporting evidence ready
Capital Grants help farmers, land managers and rural businesses make practical improvements that benefit the environment across England. The offer is set to open in late July 2026. We're encouraging those who wish to apply to gather and submit the required evidence as early as possible.
Capital Grants 2026: guidance now available
Guidance for the 2026 Capital Grants offer is now available on GOV.UK. Capital Grants help farmers and land managers pay for environmental improvements that support food production, improve water and air quality, support nature, and help farms become more resilient.
The 2026 Capital Grants offer
Through Capital Grants in 2026, £225 million will be available to support farmers, land managers and rural businesses to deliver environmental improvements across England. This post summarises the offer and sets out the steps you can take to prepare before you apply.
Capital Grants offer now closed for new applications
This is a short post to let you know that we’ve now fully allocated all available funding for the 2025 round of Capital Grants. The next round of funding will be available in 2026.
Capital Grants now open for applications
The Capital Grants offer is now open for new applications. This new round will make £150 million of funding available to farmers, land managers and rural businesses for practical environmental improvements across England.
An update on Capital Grants
Posted by:
Sarah Blatchford, Posted on:
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Categories:
Farming and Countryside Team, Grants, Things we're doing
Following the temporary closure of the Capital Grants scheme in November 2024, we’re pleased to share that we’ve secured sufficient funding for Capital Grants for 2025/26. This means we can now process the 4,040 completed Capital Grants applications that were on hold.
Capital grants in 2024: an overview
In this post, I'll provide an overview of capital grants for environmental land management, the current offer and recent updates.
Farm visit: Challacombe Farm on Dartmoor
Posted by:
Sarah Blatchford, Posted on:
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Categories:
A view from the farm, Things we're doing, Things we've learned
Farm visits are a useful way for us to understand the context in which farmers work and what’s important to them. In this post, I'd like to share what I learned during a recent visit to Challacombe Farm on Dartmoor.
Related content and links
Public appointment opportunity
An independent co-chair is sought for the Farm Tenancy Forum, which advises Defra on agricultural tenancy matters.
Preparing your business for the UK-EU SPS agreement
Read the new guidance to understand what the changes could mean for your business and how to prepare.
Agricultural property relief
From 6 April 2026, qualifying agricultural and business assets will continue to receive full inheritance tax relief up to a combined value of £2.5 million. Lower relief rates will apply to assets above this amount. Learn more
Talk to us
14-17 July Great Yorkshire Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Railway Road Harrogate.
2 July Driffield Show at Driffield Showground, Kelleythorpe, Driffield, East Yorkshire.
28 July NSA Sheep Event at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire.
30 July Launceston Show at Kennards House, Launceston, Cornwall.
Get advice
The Farming Advice Service (FAS) provides free, confidential advice to farmers and advisers.
Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) helps farmers in England protect water, air and soil. CSF advisers can provide advice on best practices and specific actions that will benefit your farm business and the environment.
We’ve compiled a list of organisations offering wellbeing support to those in the farming community.
Join a webinar
Livestock disease guidance
Nutrient Management Planning Tool
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