Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. July 2025 issue
      2. June 2025 issue
      3. Cereals event guide 2025
      4. May 2025 issue
      5. April 2025 issue
      6. March 2025 issue
      7. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      8. February 2025 issue
      9. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      10. January 2025 issue
      11. December 2024 issue
      12. November 2024 issue
      13. October 2024 issue
      14. September 2024 issue
      15. August 2024 Issue
      16. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      17. July 2024 Issue
      18. Cereals Supplement
      19. June 2024 Issue
      20. May 2024 Issue
      21. April 2024 Issue
      22. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      23. March 2024 Issue
      24. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      25. February 2024 Issue
      26. January 2024 Issue
      27. December 2023
      28. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      29. November 2023
      30. October 2023
      Featured

      July 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltJuly 9, 2025
      Recent

      July 2025 issue available now

      July 9, 2025

      Cereals event guide 2025 available now

      June 20, 2025

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy

    Farming Innovation Programme launched

    Matthew TiltBy Matthew TiltOctober 20, 20213 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Drone,For,Agriculture,,Drone,Use,For,Various,Fields,Like,Research

    Defra has announced a new long-term funding programme to support farmers, growers, foresters and other businesses to embrace innovative new ways to maximise productivity and drive sustainability.

    The Farming Innovation Programme opened for applications on the 20th of October and is one of the new measures set out in the government’s Agricultural Transition Plan. It will support ambitious projects to transform productivity and enhance environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors, whilst also driving sectors towards net-zero.

    In partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Defra will make £17.5 million available for the first round of the three funds which make up the Programme. The first is the Industry-Led R&D Partnerships Fund, where farmers, growers, foresters and businesses can bid for funding to develop new technologies and practices that will help them overcome challenges and exploit new opportunities.

    Early next year, Defra will launch the Farming Futures R&D Fund for strategic projects aimed at tackling climate change by reducing the environmental impact of farming. Later in the year, the Projects to Accelerate Adoption Fund will be launched to support farmer-led projects to trail the viability of new innovations.

    Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Jo Churchill, said: “Innovation is vital to address the challenges facing the agricultural and horticultural sectors. New ideas, technologies and processes will play a key role in helping farmers, growers and businesses to become more productive.

    “The Farming Innovation Programme will enable the sector to be more environmentally sustainable and resilient, whilst helping it achieve its net-zero ambitions. I encourage all eligible businesses and individuals to apply.”

    The scheme will expand on Defra’s partnership with UKRI for the recent Farming Innovation Pathways competition, which saw high demand from the sector and attracted many high quality applications to innovate the horticulture and farming industry.

    Defra has now announced the projects that have won a share of this £14.5 million Farming Innovation Pathways funding. The awarded projects will contribute to helping businesses and researchers transform food production, meet the demand for British food and help the sector to move towards net-zero.

    These include:

    • A fruit-scouting robot that monitors the growth-stages of crops, up to determining fruit ripeness, size and optimal picking time, to allow farmers to maximise production and yields.
    • A model to use soldier flies to create a low-cost, protein-rich animal feed from farm waste, enabling farmers to recover value from otherwise unusable waste. This also promotes circular farming practices in which resources are turned into new products at the end of their life.
    • A new approach to protect vegetable seeds against parasites and pathogens without the use of pesticides. This would help farmers improve vegetables germination, growth and yield through a combination of techniques such as laser treatment and natural disinfectants.
    • A fruit and vegetable growing method which harnesses natural daylight to boost the nutritional and flavour characteristics of crops. This would enhance the sustainability, productivity and competitiveness of domestic fruit and vegetable growing, compared to conventional glasshouse production. It will also extend the production season and remove the need for pesticides in production.

    UKRI challenge director for the TFP challenge, Katrina Hayter, said: “As the UK gets ready to host COP26 in November, it is timely that we can unveil so many great projects in the vital area of agriculture that will help meet our net-zero goals.

    “Working closely with farmers in the innovation process means that pressing challenges are identified. Solving these challenges will result in maximising productivity, reducing emissions, and making our farms more resilient and sustainable.”

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous Article60 years of the David Brown 880 and 990 at the Newark Vintage Tractor Show
    Next Article Kuhn launches new ration management system for its diet feeders
    Matthew Tilt
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn

    Machinery editor for Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer. Matt has worked as an agricultural machinery journalist for five years, following time spent in his family’s Worcestershire contracting business. When he’s not driving or writing about the latest farm equipment, he can be found in his local cinema, or with his headphones in, reading a good book.

    Read Similar Stories

    Tips for those eligible for re-opened SFI 2024

    July 7, 2025

    Calls for government to include food redistribution into SFI

    July 2, 2025

    Industry responds to government spending review

    June 11, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Polish manufacturer looks to UK for growth

    July 14, 2025

    Latest updates to applicators

    July 14, 2025

    High-quality bales and reliability key to baler

    July 13, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.