Today, DEFRA officially re-opened the Capital Grants offer, making £150 million available for farmers, land managers and rural businesses across England. If you’re looking to plant hedgerows, improve water quality, manage boundaries, or invest in flood resilience, this is a big opportunity.
But as with anything in agri-policy, there’s a catch, and that’s where JustFarm can help you make sense of it.
So, what is the Capital Grants offer?
The Capital Grants offer is one part of DEFRA’s wider environmental land management (ELM) programme. It’s designed to fund one-off physical improvements on your land that deliver long-term benefits for nature, water, air, soil and resilience. These aren’t ongoing actions like you’d find in SFI, they’re capital items, which means:
- You do the work once, like planting a hedgerow or building a stone wall
- You get paid a fixed rate per metre/item, depending on what it is
- You submit evidence, and then claim your payment
- It can be used on its own or alongside your existing SFI, CS, or HLS agreements
These capital improvements help boost biodiversity, cut pollution, reduce flood risk and enhance the overall health of the farmed landscape. They're practical, physical changes, not just paperwork.
Think of it as investment in your farm’s natural infrastructure, with the government footing a chunk of the bill.
What’s changed this year?
This new round includes 78 items across six main categories:
- Air quality
- Water quality
- Natural flood management
- Boundaries, trees and orchards
- Assessments
- Improvements (like educational visits)
Newly added items this year include:
- Woodland condition assessments
- Wildfire risk checklists
- Stone wall repairs
- Hosting educational access visits
There are now funding caps to help spread the money around more fairly:
- £25,000 per application for water quality, air quality, and natural flood management
- £35,000 for boundaries, trees, and orchards
- No cap for assessments or general improvements
You can apply any time, but you only get one successful application per SBI per calendar year.
Why it matters (and what to watch out for)
DEFRA says this round is part of their “New Deal for Farmers”, and yes, it’s welcome funding for some very practical improvements. But the truth is, capital grants have been frustratingly stop-start, with the last round abruptly closed in 2024 due to overwhelming demand. That unpredictability is something JustFarm users are protected from, because our platform updates automatically when things change.
If you’re planning to apply this time, you’ll need to:
- Move quickly before funding runs out again
- Get your ducks in a row, quotes, plans, maps, evidence
- Understand how your capital claim interacts with other schemes like SFI
Most importantly, capital grants are only as valuable as your ability to deliver and record compliance. Without robust record-keeping, invoices, plans, and maps, those grants can evaporate before you use them, or worse, trigger penalties.
And this is exactly where JustFarm can help.
How JustFarm makes Capital Grants easier (and safer)
We’ve built JustFarm to make compliance stress-free and structured — and that applies just as much to capital items as it does to SFI or Countryside Stewardship. Here’s how we help:
✅ Automatic field mapping
Enter your SBI and we map your land using official RPA data. No need to guess what field is eligible for what — you’ve got a clear, up-to-date picture.
✅ Field-level task tracking
Want to apply for boundary repairs on field 6 and livestock tracks on field 12? JustFarm keeps each action clearly separated and linked to the right field — so you never lose track of what’s needed, when, and where.
✅ Checklist-driven compliance
Each capital item has specific evidence and delivery rules — JustFarm creates tailored checklists for what to record, photograph, and submit for each item, based on the latest guidance.
✅ Stay within funding limits
We warn you if you’re approaching a funding cap or duplicating something from another scheme — so you don’t accidentally breach the rules or get penalised later.
✅ Easy evidence capture
Snap a photo on your phone, write a quick note, or upload an invoice — everything is saved securely and linked to your capital grant item. No more scrambling to find documentation later.
Our Take on the New Round
- 👏 Good news: £150m is a major boost, especially with new items that match real resilience and biodiversity needs.
- ⚠️ Caution needed: Rushed reopening and caps indicate limited funding, you must act quickly and claim strategically.
- 🔔 Warning signs: The last closure left many applicants stranded; delays can be costly. With JustFarm, you're ready to act as soon as the window opens.
Bottom Line
This £150m Capital Grants round offers a well-timed opportunity, but only to those who can deliver on time, within limits, and with clear evidence. That’s where JustFarm truly pays for itself: from mapping fields to managing deadlines and documenting compliance, we make sure you’re ready, eligible, and audit-proof.
Time is tight. Get ahead of the rest, book a demo with JustFarm to see how you can craft a winning application before the window closes.