Farmers urged to prepare ahead of July reopening of ELM Capital Grants
With increased funding available farmers and landowners are being encouraged to begin preparing now for the next round of Environmental Land Management (ELM) Capital Grants, which are set to reopen in July this year.
When applications open, demand for the scheme is expected to be high so, early preparation could prove crucial.
The upcoming round of Capital Grants will see funding increase significantly to £225 million, up from £150 million previously, this level of investment shows the continued importance the scheme places on practical environmental improvements across farms and rural businesses.
These grants provide funding for one-off capital works that support environmental outcomes, including water quality improvements, air quality measures, natural flood management, and boundary and habitat enhancements such as hedgerows and tree planting.
Previous schemes have supported a wide range of farm infrastructure and land management improvements. These have included hedging and hedge laying, stone walling, importing stone from a quarry, sheep netting, water trough installation, wooden field gates, yard concreting and roofing projects.
Roofing grants have also supported farm infrastructure such as covering muck middens, livestock handling systems and silage pits,, these have been aimed at helping farmers improve compliance while protecting water quality.
Alongside the main round opening in July, the Higher Tier Capital Grant scheme remains open. These agreements also run for three years and provide funding for items that are not available in the standard capital grant scheme, where they are essential for ensuring existing Higher Tier CS or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements meet their environmental objectives.
To help ensure a a smooth application process, I advise farmers to begin reviewing their land parcels and existing scheme commitments now, to clear any outstanding works.
One of the issues we sometimes encounter is land parcels already being tied up in existing agreements or unclaimed options, in these cases, the parcels may need to be released before a new Capital Grant application can proceed smoothly.
For farmers considering larger infrastructure improvements, such as concreting yards or roofing over silage pits and muck middens these will require Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer Approval in advance. So seeking this advice as soon as possible is recommended.
A Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer visit can help demonstrate that the proposed works deliver environmental benefits, particularly around water quality, having that advice in place can strengthen an application considerably.
With interest expected to be strong for these grants the message from us to farmers is, "begin the groundwork now”.
Our team can start mapping boundary works, reviewing land parcels and preparing draft applications in advance, by getting organised early, you can ensure that you are in the strongest possible position when the scheme opens.
Farmers and landowners interested in preparing for the 2026 Capital Grant scheme can contact the team for advice and support ahead of the July application window, on 01228 406260.
