Farmer Collaboration Fund
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Funding
- £600,000 to £3 million
- Total pot £15 million
- Dates
- Opens 5 August 2026
- Closes 1 October 2026
- Where
- England
- Who can apply
- Public sector, Non-profits, Businesses, Local authorities
The Farmer Collaboration Fund (FCF) aims to support farmers, land managers and growers to manage land in a productive, nature friendly and sustainable way and find practical solutions that support their businesses and the environment. The FCF will create opportunities to learn from each other, share knowledge and lessons learned, create joined up plans for landscape-level projects and apply for more ambitious land management schemes, in both government and private sectors.
About this grant
The Farmer Collaboration Fund will fund the costs of running collaboration groups and allow access to expert advice where this is needed. Funds will be awarded to successful delivery partners, who will need to show knowledge and understanding of collaboration, including locally relevant issues. They will use the funds flexibly to support collaboration groups in ways that are important for their area and will help achieve Defra’s objectives. An FCF agreement will last 3 years and will range from £200,000 to £1 million per year. Around 20 grants are expected with £5 million funding available annually.
Eligibility
Eligibility shown as published by the source. Treat it as a guide and confirm the details on the official page before applying.
You can apply to be an FCF delivery partner if you’re an organisation based in England. You need to use the FCF to support at least 5 farming collaboration groups. Collaboration groups should include at least 4 separate farming businesses managed by different people Organisations eligible for the FCF grant include: charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs)
local authorities, strategic authorities and national landscapes and national parks organisations
commercial businesses including limited companies
mutual societies, such as cooperatives
universities
You must be a single entity, which means you have overall day-to-day control and management of all the various activities in the organisation. You must also have a UK bank account. If you apply in partnership with other organisations, you’ll need to appoint a lead organisation to: submit your application
receive funding if your application is successful
make sure the funding is spent appropriately
You’ll need to show skills and experience of: the geographic area, sector or area of interest you want to support through the fund (locally or nationally)
supporting and facilitating collaboration
What it aims to fund
Delivery partners should: use existing strategies and plans to identify priority outcomes, then demonstrate how collaboration groups will deliver those outcomes
demonstrate what actions will help achieve those outcomes through the groups they will support
We anticipate a wide range of priorities being in scope and expect different groups to act flexibly to take a range of activities in line with locally relevant needs.
How to apply
You need to register on the Defra eCommercial System (known as ‘Atamis’) before you can apply for the Farmer Collaboration Fund.
Key dates from the source
The FCF will open on 1 September 2026 and close at 11.59pm on 30 September 2026.
Supporting information
You need to read the FCF applicant’s guide for more information about eligibility, what the fund pays for and what you need to do to apply.