A FRESH round of funding and grant opportunities has been announced for Dartmoor's farmers, outlined by the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project's David Attwell.

The news comes during a turbulent time for the funding structure of British agriculture, as the industry transitions from the old EU-funded basic payment schemes.

- Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) Grant

Defra have announced that FiPL will be extended to 2025 in all participating protected landscapes which includes Dartmoor. Grants are available for projects which meets the programme outcomes of climate, nature, people and place. There is a local project officer on Dartmoor based at the National Park and further details and an EOI form can be found here Farming in Protected Landscapes | Dartmoor

- Free Forestry Training Grants for Skills and Courses

Defra are offering 100% funding for eligible forestry and woodland training and expect grants to be in the range of £150-£3,000 Forestry Training Fund. Funding will be paid directly to the training provider and people currently working in agriculture are eligible if they wish broaden their skill base. Courses available include teaching specific skills such as chainsaw, pesticides, tractor driving, ATV and telehandler. A broader range of courses such as managing your woodland; planning and planting a new woodland; marketing and selling timber; fencing and hedge laying.

Over £700,000 has been allocated by Defra and Forestry Commission, via the government’s Nature for Climate Fund, to support applicants in their journey either starting or developing a career in forestry. There is no limit - applications for funding to cover training courses can be made multiple times as long as it can be demonstrated that individual courses are developing a person’s career.

Details of eligible courses and training providers can be found at Forestry Training Fund portal. The deadline for applications is March 25th 2023.

- New Round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund

Defra have announced that The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will go live soon which is part of the Farming Investment Fund. It offers grants for specific items of equipment to increase productivity, boost environmental sustainability and improve animal health and welfare. You can apply for a grant between £1,000 and £25,000.

- Countryside Stewardship Open for 2023

Defra has announced that Countryside Stewardship is now open for applications. This includes Higher and Mid Tire, Wildlife Offers, Capital Grants and Woodland Support. Since January this year, Defra has increased Countryside Stewardship rates by an average of 30% and broadened the scheme and make it easier to apply.

- SFI Boundary Maintenance Standards – Clarification on Rate

In a recent announcements Defra has confirmed that in 2024 there will be a new Boundary Maintenance standard which will cover stone faced earth banks, dry stone walls and earth banks. Initial figures suggested a rate of £15-£20/M which was an error and they have clarified this would in fact be per 100 metres. They are still consulting on the rates through the SFI pilot, and we are feeding into this process.

- Second Round of Landscape Recovery

Defra have announced that the second round of Landscape Recovery will open this spring. Landscape Recovery is one of the new environmental land management schemes and is for farmers and land managers who want to take a large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land. It funds ambitious landscape-scale projects through bespoke, long-term agreements.

This is a competitive application process. Selected projects will be awarded a project development grant to support more detailed planning and must develop a scheme that will include both Government and private sector. The target is for 25 projects in the second round and will focus on projects of at least 500 hectares targeting net zero, protected sites and habitat creation.