ADOPT in Action: Current Projects Seeking Farmer Participation
Tim Isaac
Jun, 30 2026Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies Fund (ADOPT) is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, with the aim to fund on-farm trial and demonstration projects to improve adoption of new ideas or solutions in the agricultural sector relating to improving productivity, resilience and/or sustainability and progression towards net zero farming.
Grants are available for project costs between £50k and £200k (previously only up to £100k), lasting between 6 and 24 months. Our current project applications are below and we are eager to have more farmers on board each project. Alternatively, if you have a project idea that you would like to get ADOPT funding for, we are official project facilitators and can certainly help.
Available Projects:
| Project title | Context | Application submission deadline: | If successful, project start date: |
| Herbal Leys in Practice: Farmer-led evidence on Performance, Resilience and Management | This ADOPT project will generate farmer-led, real-world evidence comparing herbal leys with ryegrass-clover leys as break crops, helping farmers make more confident decisions on productivity, resilience, soil health, livestock performance and practical management. | Round 9 (23/9/26) | 01/02/2027 |
| Field‑Ready Natural Fertiliser Trial: Advancing Sustainable Arable Practice | The project will trial a UK-sourced natural fertiliser and soil improver across commercial arable farms to test whether it can improve crop performance, soil resilience and nutrient retention while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers and losses to water. | Round 9 (23/9/26) | 01/02/2027 |
| Can wheat fungal infection be reduced with simultaneous reduction in nitrogen, without compromising yield using a seaweed-derived biostimulant | This ADOPT proposal is an on-farm winter wheat trial testing whether a seaweed-derived biostimulant can reduce fungal disease pressure and nitrogen inputs while maintaining yield, resilience and practical scalability for UK arable growers. | Round 9 (23/9/26) | 01/02/2027 |
| Integrating Biostimulants and Nutritional Strategies for Lower Input Farming: A Systems Comparison | This project focuses on the cumulative benefits of a systems-based approach to crop management, integrating biostimulants and targeted plant nutrition to improve plant and soil health, nutrient-use efficiency, and resilience to stress. | Round 9 (23/9/26) | 01/02/2027 |
