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FAS technical advice line: 03000 200 301
- Key dates to be aware of
- Upcoming Events
- Capital Grants 2026 offer now open
- Farm Safety Week
- Register your interest in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) agreement for agroforestry or woodland improvement.
- Farmer Collaboration Fund is launching soon
- Tripling funding for farmer welfare support
- Annual Charge Invoices for Chargeable Abstraction Licence Holders
- Woodland creation webinar: helping new trees survive and thrive
- Help test the Forestry Commission’s new felling licence service
- Water licensing availability survey
- Modernising time limited licence renewal reminders
- Updates from the Defra Farming blog and industry announcements
- More farmers supported to grow their businesses and restore nature
- Feasibility Studies Round 5: applications now open
- Heating help
- Help support vital scrapie surveillance in sheep and goats
- Slurry storage: sort it in summer, be winter ready
- 1 week to go – Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly update deadline 7 August 2026
- Rural Payments Agency: Updates and Guidance
- How can we help you?
- Stay up to date with us
The closed period for high Readily Available Nitrogen (RAN) organic manures on tillage land with sandy or shallow soils in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones begins.
The full guidance on NVZ closed periods can be found here.
The Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund is open now and closes at 5pm on 21 August 2026.
Find more information here.
A reminder that the hedgerow cutting and trimming rules are in place until 31 August.
There are exemptions available when sowing oilseed rape or temporary grass in August.
The full guidance for hedgerows is available here.
The closed period for high Readily Available Nitrogen (RAN) organic manures on grassland in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones begins.
The full guidance on NVZ closed periods can be found here.
The Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant is now open and closes at 11.59pm on 18 September 2026.
Apply for a lowland peat water implementation grant
In case you missed them
This is the start of Farm Safety Week (20-24 July 2026): an annual campaign which promotes safety and wellbeing for those working in the farming industry.
Find out more here.
Defra held a Capital Grants 2026 webinar to help people prepare for the 2026 Capital Grants offer, expected to open on Thursday 30 July.
Catch up with the webinar here
The 2026 Capital Grants offer opened on Thursday 30 July.
View the Applicant's Guide here.
Upcoming Events
On Thursday 30 July, Defra opened the 2026 Capital Grants offer for applications.
Capital Grants can help farmers invest in practical improvements to their business, including hedgerow planting, water storage, farmyard drainage and other infrastructure that supports long-term productivity and environmental outcomes. This new round will make £225 million, 50% more than in 2025, available to farmers to improve farm infrastructure and carry out works that help them make environmental improvements across England.
This year Defra are placing greater emphasis on receiving supporting evidence up front so applications can be assessed more quickly and fairly and make the best use of the available funding. Therefore, Defra are encouraging applicants to submit their evidence at the same time they submit their application.
Funding is available for a range of activities, from planting trees and hedgerows to carrying out works that help improve water quality. Last year, committed Capital Grants funding supported planting over 1,200km of new hedgerows, and laying another 700,000 metres of new hedgerow, providing habitats for birds and insects. Capital Grants also funded 12km of fencing to protect habitats, water courses, and environmental features. There were 26,000 trees planted, including over 16,000 trees in new agroforestry systems, and it funded 9,000 wildlife boxes for birds and bats.
To get ready to apply for the Capital Grants offer, please read Defra's blog post from earlier this year carefully to understand what supporting evidence you need to prepare to apply. The 2026 application window will close when all the available funding has been allocated. Defra will publish updates on the Farming Blog when approximately 25%, 50% and 75% of the budget has been allocated, but Defra encourages eligible farmers to apply as early as possible.
Read more about Capital Grants opening on the Defra Farming Blog.
Farm Safety Week
Farm Safety Week (20-24 July) marks the 14th annual campaign led by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), raising awareness of the importance of staying safe on farms across the UK and Ireland.
While farm fatalities understandably attract attention, thousands of people also suffer serious, life-changing injuries each year, with lasting consequences for individuals, families, businesses and rural communities.
This year's campaign focuses on the people behind these incidents, encouraging you to take a moment to reflect on the risks faced every day in agriculture and the steps that can be taken to reduce them. You can get involved by reviewing your own safety practices, discussing risks with family members and employees, sharing experiences with others in the industry, and engaging with campaign resources and content online. By taking part in the conversation and helping to raise awareness, you can play a part in promoting a safer, healthier future for everyone working in agriculture.
Join the conversation: Follow us on social media @yellowwelliesuk and help spread the message by sharing our posts. Use #FarmSafetyWeek to amplify the campaign.
Be the voice of change: Tell your story. Whether you are a farmer, a farm business or an organisation what can you do to make the industry safer?
Step up as a safety ambassador: If you have a story to tell please let us know. We’d love to feature you.
A new Expression of Interest (EOI) process is part of a new RPA approach to widen participation in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT).
You can now submit an EOI for:
- Agroforestry
- Woodland improvement
You can also submit an EOI for new single-focus agreements, which are designed to support specific environmental priorities in the following areas:
- Scheduled monument management
- Species-rich grassland
You can read more information on the funding and how to register here; Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier: express your interest – Farming
On 1 September, Defra are opening the £30 million Farmer Collaboration Fund, to help farmers and land managers share knowledge, reduce costs and build more resilient businesses.
The fund will help farmers and land managers to test new approaches collectively, spread risk, and access opportunities that are difficult to secure alone.
Practical activity the fund will support ranges from funding local facilitators to support farmers, start-up support for new collaboration groups, and coordination which strengthens farmers’ position when seeking private investment.
The fund will be delivered through organisations with experience of supporting collaborative groups, while farmers can focus on developing their projects.
By working together, farmers can create more connected, resilient and environmentally sustainable rural economies.
Defra have now published applicant guidance for the fund, which will be finalised before it opens on 1 September.
Defra are tripling the previous funding for farmer mental health and wellbeing support, with a fund of £1.5 million available over three years through the Farmer Welfare Grant.
The new grant will open for applications from farming charities on 6 August 2026, supporting targeted interventions to strengthen personal and business resilience in the agricultural sector.
This funding boost builds on the success of the existing grant, which supported the expansion of the Farming Community Network's online FarmWell resource to more farmers. Similarly, this funding supported The Farmer Network's 'Farming Stronger for Longer' campaign, providing practical advice and targeted exercises to help keep farmers pain free.
Find out more in the Farming Blog post on the Farmer Welfare Grant.
If you hold a chargeable water abstraction licence you will soon receive or have recently received your annual charge invoice for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 from the Environment Agency.
If the Environment Agency has agreed a Two Part Tariff charge arrangement for your licence the invoice you receive will be for the first part charge. The second part charge is based on the quantities reported to the Environment Agency by you as abstracted.
Taken together the first and second part charges make-up the annual charge and will be no more in total than the full calculated annual charge for a licence or group of licences.
The second part charge is billed in arrears to allow time for records of actual abstraction for the billing period in question to be reported and processed. Second part charges for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 are now being calculated and invoices will be sent later in the year.
If you have any queries about your invoice or how to pay the invoice details of who you can contact, and how to sign up for e invoicing or to set up a direct debit, are printed on the reverse of the invoice.
More information can be found here; Water resources licences: when and how you are charged - GOV.UK
Join the Forestry Commission webinar to find out how to establish healthy, resilient trees.
This practical session is for landowners and land managers who are planning to create new woodland or are new to woodland creation.
The Forestry Commission's South East and London Area Director, Peter Coles, and Woodland Resilience Advisor, Chris Watson, will share practical advice on how to give your trees the conditions they need to survive and thrive. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session.
This is the final webinar in the four-part Planning to planting series. Join the live session on Wednesday 21 October, or catch up on previous webinars.
Designed to replace Felling Licence Online, Apply for a tree felling licence is intended to be faster, easier and more intuitive to use.
The Forestry Commission is asking customers to help test the service before it is publicly launched. If you're planning to apply for a felling licence between August and October 2026, you can register your interest, and if selected, you will be invited to submit a felling licence application in the new service. This will be processed within the standard timelines and, if approved, will result in a legally enforceable felling licence.
Register your interest to join the live testing of "Apply for a felling licence."
Water licensing availability survey
Would you like to help the Environment Agency launch a new online service for people who need water for their business?
The service will help you find out how much water is available in your local area for licensing and allow you to explore alternative options for getting water.
The EA would like to test their designs with you. Your feedback is very valuable to the team and will help them create the best service possible.
Details:
- Dates: 6th August, or September onwards (dates in September and beyond are to be confirmed)
- Length: Up to 55 minutes
- Method: Microsoft Teams
- Preparation: None
If you would like to take part, please complete the short sign-up form: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ea-water-b3/
Modernising time limited licence renewal reminders
If you hold an abstraction licence where the whole licence, or one or more conditions within the licence is approaching expiration, and you want to be able to continue abstracting after the expiry date, then you will need to apply to renew your licence.
The Enviroment Agency recommend submitting your application at least three months before the expiry date.
To support early planning, they will send a reminder before your licence expires. As part of the ongoing modernisation programme, reminders for whole time-limited licences are now issued automatically through the online service at www.gov.uk/manage-water-abstraction, 300 days before the licence expiry date.
Notifications are sent by email to the registered email address. Where no valid email address is available, the service will send out a reminder by post. Copies of all notifications are available in the Communications section of your online account.
The EA are also developing further enhancements to automate reminders for time-limited variations, self-destruct conditions, and notifications of lapsed licences.
Defra regularly updates the Farming blog. Please subscribe to the blog to ensure you receive all the latest news.
More farmers supported to grow their businesses and restore nature
On 2 July at Groundswell, Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds announced an expansion of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), opening the scheme to more farmers and land managers and providing greater opportunities to secure funding that supports both profitable farm businesses and environmental outcomes.
For the first time, farmers and land managers will be able to begin the application process for certain CSHT agreements directly through a new Expression of Interest process, rather than only by invitation from Natural England or the Forestry Commission.
From later this summer, applications will be available for woodland agreements, agroforestry agreements and new single-focus agreements, including species-rich grassland restoration, helping more applicants access support while delivering benefits for nature, heritage and food production.
The announcement builds on the government's commitment to make environmental land management schemes more accessible and forms part of delivering the Farming Roadmap. It will support farmers and land managers to restore and manage species-rich grassland, improve woodland management, establish agroforestry and conserve scheduled monuments, while continuing to run productive businesses, alongside continued support for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders whose agreements expire in 2026 or early 2027.
Later this year, Defra will begin trialing applications on common land ahead of implementing a wider rollout.
An initial cohort of up to 1,200 single-focus agreements will be available, with at least £50 million allocated for new CSHT agreements this year, it follows the reopening of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), designed to be simpler, fairer, and more accessible than ever before.
To find out more details on the new EOI process, single-focus agreements, priority cohorts, and future rollout plans read this Farming Blog.
Help support vital scrapie surveillance in sheep and goats
Livestock keepers are being reminded of the importance of arranging the prompt collection of fallen sheep and goats as part of Great Britain’s national scrapie surveillance programme.
Scrapie is a fatal, notifiable disease that affects the nervous system of sheep and goats. Defra is legally required to carry out ongoing surveillance to monitor the disease, helping to protect animal health and support access to important domestic and international markets.
Each year, around 15,000 fallen sheep and 500 fallen goats aged over 18 months are randomly selected for testing across Great Britain. Although cases of classical scrapie have fallen significantly in recent years, continued surveillance remains essential.
If a sheep or goat over 18 months of age dies or is euthanised on farm, keepers should arrange collection through a fallen stock service in the usual way. The collector may then select them for sampling. Keepers continue to pay the normal collection and disposal costs, while Defra covers the costs of sampling and testing.
Animals are more likely to be suitable for testing if they are collected promptly, are not significantly decomposed and still have a readable ear tag. In recent years it has become harder to meet testing targets, so industry support is critical in maintaining robust scrapie surveillance in GB.
If you suspect a sheep or goat may have scrapie, you should report this to APHA immediately.
Slurry storage: sort it in summer, be winter ready
As part of its Winter Ready campaign, the Environment Agency is encouraging farmers to make checks now to prepare slurry storage for the winter. Climate change is bringing wetter winters which can increase pressure on stores with little spare capacity or where gutters and drainage are in poor condition.
Mismanaged slurry is a pollution risk to rivers, soils, and downstream communities. Good slurry management protects land and farm businesses.
The Silage, Slurry and Fuel Oil Regulations sets out that all farms must have at least 4 months slurry storage. There are higher requirements for those in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. The Environment Agency recommends 6 months' storage as good practice.
Farmers are advised to check yard drainage and guttering, as faulty infrastructure can allow clean rainwater to mix with slurry, increasing storage demands unnecessarily. AHDB slurry wizard can help calculate storage needs and identify any shortfall.
Read the latest Natural England blog on storing slurry and planning a new store.
Farmers can also access Defra funding to improve slurry storage and management through the Capital Grant offer, expected to open 30 July. Capital Grants fund items like automatic slurry scrapers, self-supporting covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and floating covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and lagoons. Read the full guidance on Capital Grants.
Feasibility Studies Round 5: applications now open
On 15 July, round 5 of the Feasibility Studies grant opened for applications. Part of the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP), this competition proves whether early-stage ideas will work to improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of England’s farms.
A UK registered business must lead the project, and this can include farmers, growers, or foresters, to make sure the idea is shaped by the people who will use it. They must work with at least one other business or research organisation.
The grant will support early-stage projects with total costs of £200,000 to £500,000, and projects can last up to 2 years. Applications will close on 9 September 2026.
An example of innovation in action: tackling crop pests with AI
Bean seed fly and swede midge cause damage to brassicas and onions across the nation. Current monitoring methods are too slow to catch these pests at the exact moment to stop them effectively.
With £330,000 in Defra funding from the previous round, the TRACER-Pest project led by PE Simmons & Son alongside the University of Warwick is trialling AI-powered cameras fitted to pheromone traps to track pest numbers in real time. This means farmers will know precisely when to strike before pest populations peak, using fewer pesticides and protecting their crops.
The findings will be shared with other growers and agronomists to help tackle these pests across the country.
Find out more
Find out more about the Feasibility Studies grant and how it is testing how new technology works in practice, in Defra Farming Blog post.
Heating help
Do you use heating oil or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to heat your home?
Following the conflict in the Middle East, the government announced a new £9,000 heat pump grant, to help those most impacted by rising energy prices.
A heat pump heats your home using electricity. It works like a fridge in reverse, taking heat from the air or ground, increasing it to a higher temperature and transferring it to your home to provide heating and hot water.
And because they run on electricity, there is potential to make bill savings by using smart energy tariffs with cheaper off-peak rates.
This new grant is now available, through the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme. If you want to see if a heat pump could be a good option for your home, try the government’s heat pump checker tool.
The £9,000 grant is being applied across both domestic and non-domestic premises off the gas grid. To find out if you are eligible and how to get the grant, visit the eligibility page on GOV.UK. Sheds however are not considered an eligible property under the scheme. The Ofgem property owner guidance sets out detailed property eligibility.
In March, government confirmed over £50 million for low-income families who heat their homes with oil. If you think you might qualify for this support, you should contact your local authority to find out more.
1 week to go – Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly update deadline 7 August 2026
It’s time to send your first Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax quarterly update to HMRC – the deadline is 7 August 2026.
MTD for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords whose gross income from self-employment and property exceeded £50,000 on their 2024 to 2025 tax return. If you’re unsure whether this applies you, you can use our interactive checker tool to check.
Actions you need to take now
- If you have not already done so, you should sign up for MTD for Income Tax
- Authorise and connect your software to HMRC. Compatible software includes using spreadsheets with bridging software. Use our software finder tool to find the best option for you.
- Check you have selected the right accounting period in your software – if your accounting period is 1 April to 31 March, select ‘calendar periods’ in your MTD software before you send your first quarterly update, otherwise, leave it as the default period that aligns with the tax year (6 April to 5 April).
- Use the MTD compatible software to create digital records of your income and expenses from self-employment and property.
- Submit your first quarterly update to HMRC by 7 August.
Guidance and other useful resources
Check out our Making Tax Digital Campaign page which provides an overview of MTD for Income Tax, including timelines. You can also check out our dedicated step-by-step guidance for sole traders and landlords.
Rural Payments Agency Blog
To stay up to date with the latest information and updates from the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), sign up to the RPA Blog.
You can also listen to the RPA Podcast, which has been launched to help farmers, landowners and rural communities keep up to date with the latest news from the RPA. You can also follow the RPA on social media:
- X @ruralpay
- Facebook: facebook.com/RuralPaymentsAgency
- YouTube: Rural Payments Agency
- Instagram: ruralpay.
Stay up to date with the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) blog posts here.
The Rural Payments Agency has launched a series of 'How to' videos to help farmers prepare for a farm visit and meet your regulatory requirements.
The video series of practical guides covers everything from identification visits to getting set up online.
Free and confidential advice
The FAS is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). We provide free, confidential advice to help farmers and land managers in England understand and meet the legal requirements in English law around certain farming activities to protect people, livestock and the environment. We update the farming sector on relevant government farming policy that is applicable in England and on the actions that can be taken to help farmers comply with the relevant regulations. Our newsletter also provides articles on topics that are complementary to farming regulation, such as practices that benefit the wider environment and wellbeing support.
Our website hosts our previous newsletters, as well as technical articles and webinars that cover various topics in more detail.
Contacting the advice line: Farmers requiring telephone advice can contact the FAS technical advice line on 03000 200 301, Monday to Friday, between 08:30 and 17:00. The Rural Services Helpline provides a single number for all FAS, Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Animal and Plant Health Agency, Natural England and Forestry enquiries.
You can also email enquiries to advice@farmingadviceservice.org.uk. Our helpline team aims to respond to all telephone and email enquiries within one working day.