The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) is one of the most practical bits of government support British agriculture has seen in years. Not a consultation document, not a promise of funding to come. Actual grants, paid out to actual farms, for actual equipment. The 2025 round put over £68 million into the hands of more than 8,800 farming businesses across England. Going beyond a pilot scheme, that’s a genuine shift in the sector’s capital investment picture.
As someone who places people into agricultural businesses every day, I care about what this fund does to the job market. Because when farms invest in new technology and equipment, the kinds of roles they need, and the skills they’re looking for, change with them.
What the FETF Covers
The fund supports three themes, all of which have a direct bearing on how farms operate day to day.
Productivity
Under the productivity theme, grants contribute to equipment that reduces costs and improves efficiency, things like cover crop rollers, weed wipers and precision drilling technology. There are 70 eligible items in this category.
Slurry management
The slurry management theme covers equipment that reduces ammonia emissions and cuts nutrient runoff, including slurry separators and umbilical hose reelers.
Animal health and welfare
The animal health and welfare theme is the most extensive, with over 100 eligible items covering livestock housing, cooling systems, handling equipment and more.
Each grant is competitive. Funding covers 40% or 50% of eligible costs, with a minimum of £1,000 and a maximum of £25,000 per theme. An applicant can apply across all three themes, making £75,000 the upper limit per round. Applications are scored based on the expected benefit of the equipment, and not everyone who applies receives funding.
Full guidance for each round is published by Defra on GOV.UK.
What FETF 2025 Actually Delivered
FETF 2025 received approximately 9,500 applications. That’s the highest number recorded in any round of the scheme since it launched in 2021. Of those, over 8,800 were offered grants, with combined offers worth more than £68.4 million.
That scale matters. We’re talking about thousands of farms that are now operating with newer, more capable equipment than they had before. Robotic seeders. Slurry separators. Improved animal handling and health monitoring systems. The farms that took up this funding are, in practical terms, running differently from how they ran two years ago.
According to Defra’s Farming Investment Fund statistics, the scheme has now paid out £124.5 million in claims across all rounds since 2021. FETF has become a meaningful part of how England’s farming sector renews its capital base.
FETF 2026 and What’s Coming from 2027
A second consecutive £50 million round ran from March to April 2026. The 2026 scheme kept the same three-theme structure but updated the list of eligible items, with some additions and removals compared to 2025, so applicants had to check the new specifications carefully rather than assume continuity.
The 2026 application window closed on 12 May 2026. Successful applicants have until 20 January 2027 to submit their claims, so for many businesses, the 2026 purchases are happening now.
What’s significant is what Defra said alongside the 2026 launch: this is the final standalone round of FETF in its current form. From 2027, the government intends to bring together the strongest elements of its grant schemes into a reformed, simplified structure. The stated aim is to target funding more effectively and reduce the administrative burden on applicants.
What that means in practice is not yet clear. But the direction of travel is plain enough. Farms that have been sitting on equipment decisions may find the current window, while FETF claims are still being processed, is the last predictable one for a while.
What This Means for Agricultural Careers
The conversation about technology and farming jobs tends to go one of two ways. Either it’s utopian (everything will be automated and farms will need fewer people) or it’s fearful (technology is coming for agricultural jobs). Neither of those is really what I’m seeing on the ground.
What I’m actually seeing is demand for people who can do more than one thing. Farms are not replacing experienced stockpeople or skilled managers with robots. They’re equipping those people with better tools and expecting them to get more from both. A herd manager who understands automated milking data is more valuable than one who doesn’t. A farm manager who can analyse precision drilling performance alongside conventional agronomic knowledge is harder to replace.
The FETF is accelerating a shift that was already happening. Farms investing in new technology need people who can operate, maintain and interpret it. Some of those roles sit in agri-tech manufacturing and servicing businesses rather than on farms directly, but the demand feeds through either way. If you’re building a career in agriculture and you’re not yet comfortable with the technology side of the sector, that’s worth addressing.
For people currently working in farming and looking to develop, it’s also worth thinking about how well your CV reflects your technical skills. Employers are increasingly specific about what they’re looking for, and a CV that shows hands-on experience with modern equipment and systems will stand out. For a broader view of where agricultural careers are heading, our guide to agricultural career paths is worth a read.
We recruit across all areas of the sector, including AgriTech, machinery and engineering roles that are growing in demand as farms modernise. The range of what’s available in that space has broadened considerably over the last few years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund?
The FETF is a competitive grant scheme for farmers, growers, foresters and their contractors in England. It provides funding towards specific items of machinery, equipment and technology designed to improve productivity, manage slurry and support animal health and welfare. Grants cover between 40% and 50% of eligible costs, up to £25,000 per theme per round.
How does the FETF affect agricultural jobs?
Technology investment tends to shift the skills mix farms need rather than simply reducing headcount. Farms that adopt precision equipment, automated systems or improved welfare technology still need experienced people to run them, but those people increasingly need to be comfortable with data, diagnostics and more sophisticated operational methods. The FETF is accelerating demand for candidates who combine hands-on agricultural experience with technical capability.
Is there still funding available after FETF 2026?
The 2026 round is closed for applications, but successful applicants can still claim until January 2027. Defra has confirmed that the current FETF format will not continue beyond 2026. From 2027, the government plans to reform its farming grant schemes into a simplified structure. The details of what that will look like have not yet been published.
Looking for Your Next Role in Agriculture?
I’ve spent over 25 years placing people across the agricultural sector, and the technology shift we’re seeing right now is creating some genuinely interesting opportunities, particularly for candidates who are ready to grow with it.
Agricultural Recruitment Specialists is the UK’s leading recruitment agency for agriculture, horticulture, food and the wider land-based sector. Founded in 2012, we have built a database of over 80,000 candidates and placed people from graduate level right through to board-level appointments. Our job is to find you the right role, not just any role.
If you’re looking for roles in AgriTech, farm management, or any area of the agricultural sector, browse our current vacancies. Not ready to apply just yet? Sign up for job alerts and we’ll let you know when the right opportunity comes up.
