SFI Capital Grants 2026

SFI Capital Grants 2026:
Four Practical Ways to Make the Most of Your Farm Infrastructure Investment

The 2026 SFI Capital Grants scheme is now open, giving farmers across England another opportunity to invest in practical improvements that benefit both the environment and the long-term efficiency of their businesses.

While much of the attention surrounding the Sustainable Farming Incentive naturally focuses on annual payments for environmental land management, the Capital Grants scheme takes a different approach. Instead of paying for ongoing actions, it contributes towards one-off infrastructure improvements that continue delivering benefits for many years.

For many farms, that’s where some of the biggest opportunities lie.

Whether you’re replacing ageing guttering, resurfacing a livestock yard or improving drainage around existing buildings, the grants can help fund projects that not only improve compliance with environmental regulations but also reduce operating costs, improve resilience during extreme weather and make day-to-day farming more efficient.

Perhaps most importantly, many of the individual grant items naturally complement one another. Rather than viewing each grant in isolation, it’s worth stepping back and asking a simple question:

“If I’m already carrying out one improvement, what else could I achieve while the work is underway?”

Here are four examples of how farmers can use the 2026 Capital Grants as the starting point for wider improvements that continue paying dividends long after the grant-funded work has been completed.

“My grain store guttering needs replacing – can I use the SFI Capital Grants to do more?”

If your grain store, livestock building or machinery shed has ageing or damaged guttering, you’re certainly not alone.

Leaking or inadequate rainwater goods often allow clean roof water to spill directly into livestock yards or hardstanding, where it immediately becomes contaminated with slurry, manure or silage effluent. Every litre of clean rainwater that mixes with contaminated runoff increases the amount of liquid that ultimately has to be collected, stored and managed.

The Capital Grants scheme includes funding for new rainwater goods—guttering and downpipes installed on existing agricultural buildings—to help separate clean rainwater from contaminated yard water.

That alone is a worthwhile improvement, but many farmers choose to think one step further.

Once clean roof water has been captured, why simply discharge it into a ditch or drain when it could become a valuable resource?

Installing a rainwater harvesting system allows thousands of litres of clean water to be collected throughout the year and stored for future use. Depending on the enterprise, harvested rainwater may be suitable for applications such as:

• machinery washing
• livestock housing washdown
• yard cleaning
• irrigation
• general farm use

As mains water prices continue to rise and weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, having an additional on-farm water supply can improve both resilience and operating costs.

It’s a good example of how one relatively straightforward grant-funded improvement can become the first stage of a much broader water management strategy.

“I’m renewing my cattle yard anyway – what else should I improve while the work’s being done?”

Concrete farmyards rarely last forever. Years of heavy machinery, livestock traffic, frost damage and exposure to slurry eventually take their toll, leaving cracked, uneven or worn surfaces that become increasingly difficult to keep clean.

The Capital Grants scheme includes funding towards concrete yard renewal, helping farmers restore heavily used working areas while reducing pollution risks. But if contractors, excavators and concrete wagons are already on site, it makes sense to think beyond simply replacing the surface.

Many farmers use the opportunity to stand back and review how water actually moves around the yard.

Questions worth asking include:

• “Is clean rainwater flowing into dirty areas?”
• “Could drainage layouts be improved?”
• “Are there areas that regularly flood during heavy rainfall?”
• “Would additional inspection points make maintenance easier?”
• “Is this the ideal time to install underground pipework or collection infrastructure before the new concrete is laid?”

Undertaking these improvements alongside planned yard renewal is often considerably less disruptive than excavating a brand-new concrete surface a few years later. It also allows the finished yard to function as a complete system rather than simply a new slab of concrete.

Good drainage, effective separation of clean and contaminated water, and carefully planned underground infrastructure all contribute towards a yard that’s easier to maintain, more environmentally responsible and better prepared for future requirements.

For many farms, that’s an investment that will continue delivering practical benefits for decades.

“My slurry store keeps filling up with rainwater – how can I stop wasting valuable assets?”

One of the most frustrating challenges on many livestock farms is watching valuable slurry storage capacity disappear because of something that should never have been there in the first place: clean rainwater.

Every litre of rainwater that falls onto roofs should, ideally, remain separate from slurry and other contaminated runoff. Once the two mix, that clean water becomes part of the slurry system, increasing storage requirements, adding to handling costs and reducing the efficiency of the entire operation. With clean water becoming a scarcer commodity, this waste is twofold.

The 2026 SFI Capital Grants encourage farmers to tackle this problem by supporting improvements that keep clean and dirty water apart.

For example, replacing damaged or inadequate guttering on livestock buildings can prevent thousands of litres of roof water from entering yards and slurry systems each year.

Rather than allowing that clean water to become a waste product, many farms choose to collect and store it for future use.

This approach delivers benefits on several fronts:

• More effective use of existing slurry storage.
• Reduced volumes requiring spreading.
• Lower transport and handling costs.
• Reduced pressure during prolonged wet weather.
• An additional on-farm water supply during dry periods.

As weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, every litre of harvested rainwater is a litre that doesn’t have to come from the mains—or occupy valuable slurry storage.

Sometimes, the biggest improvements don’t come from building larger slurry stores, but from ensuring unnecessary water never reaches them in the first place.

“If I’m already applying for one Capital Grant, should I be thinking about anything else?”

It’s an easy trap to fall into. You identify a grant that suits one particular problem, complete the application, carry out the work and move on.

But many of the most successful farm improvement projects begin with a different question:

“What else could I sensibly achieve while this work is already taking place?”

For example, if you’re replacing guttering under the Capital Grants scheme, could this also be the right time to introduce rainwater harvesting?

If you’re renewing a concrete livestock yard, could the same project incorporate improved drainage or underground infrastructure before the new surface is laid?

If you’re already upgrading water management around one building, would neighbouring buildings benefit from the same approach while contractors and equipment are already on site?

Planning projects in this way can reduce future disruption, minimise duplicated groundwork and create infrastructure that works together as a complete system rather than a collection of individual improvements.

• Instead of seeing each grant item as a separate project, think of them as building blocks.
• One improvement naturally supports the next.
• New guttering helps separate clean rainwater.
• Separated rainwater creates opportunities for harvesting and storage.
• Better drainage keeps yards cleaner.
• Well-planned underground infrastructure simplifies future expansion.

Together, these improvements can reduce pollution risks, improve water efficiency and create a farm that’s better prepared for increasingly variable weather conditions.

Think Beyond the Grant

The SFI Capital Grants aren’t simply about repairing worn infrastructure. They’re an opportunity to rethink how your farm manages one of its most valuable resources: water.

Whether you’re replacing guttering, renewing a livestock yard or improving drainage around existing buildings, every project provides an opportunity to create something that’s more efficient than what was there before.

By planning improvements as part of a wider strategy rather than as isolated jobs, it’s possible to:

• Reduce contaminated runoff
• Improve environmental compliance
• Make better use of rainfall
• Reduce reliance on mains water
• Increase the efficiency of slurry storage
• Future-proof farm infrastructure for years to come

The grants may fund individual improvements, but with careful planning those improvements can become part of a much bigger investment in the long-term productivity, sustainability and resilience of your farm.

Sources

• Applicant’s guide: Capital Grants 2026, Rural Payments Agency, 28 May 2026
• The 2026 Capital Grants offer, The Farming Blog, DEFRA, 19 March 2026
• Capital Grants 2026: guidance now available, The Farming Blog, DEFRA, 28 May 2026

Individual Capital Grant Items:

• RP15: Concrete Yard Renewal
• RP16: Rainwater Goods (Guttering and Downpipes)
• RP17: Storage Tanks Underground
• RP18: Above Ground Tanks
• RP19: First Flush Rainwater Diverters and Downpipe Filters