Funding and support worth checking for Northern Ireland farms, horticulture businesses, food processors and rural enterprises. These are leads to investigate, not an eligibility decision or a promise of funding. Read the official guidance before applying, ordering equipment or committing money. Last checked: 25 September 2026. Times below are UK local time.
Deadline: 3pm, 19 October 2026. For: Northern Ireland landowners, including farmers, establishing at least 3 hectares of new woodland. Support: Up to 100% of eligible establishment costs; an annual premium of £469 per hectare for 10 years for eligible applications. Practical use: Planting a qualifying new woodland under an approved plan. Main constraint: Land ownership, site suitability and UK Forestry Standard requirements need checking in the application guidance. Official DAERA scheme information. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
EOI deadline: 30 September 2026; no time specified on the current scheme page. Full application: CAFRE's FAQ lists 21 October to 4pm 16 December 2026; check again when that window opens. For: Northern Ireland commercial production horticulture businesses with Category 1 or 2 DAERA farm business ID; applicant aged at least 18. Support: Competitive funding for 40% of eligible expenditure from £10,000 to £625,000 excluding VAT, plus specialist advice. Practical use: A crop, technology or production system new to Northern Ireland, proposed as one coherent innovation project. Main constraint: Only one business is supported per innovation project; processing equipment and building construction are excluded. A full application requires quotes and a business plan, and grant is paid after completion and valid claim. CAFRE says an EOI is not mandatory for full application. The FAQ still prints the superseded 4 September EOI date; the current scheme page and later notice say 30 September. Official CAFRE scheme page · CAFRE FAQ · deadline extension notice. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Window: 9am, 28 September to 3pm, 16 October 2026. For: Qualifying Northern Ireland small or medium enterprises, social enterprises, third-sector organisations and potential entrepreneurs under Invest NI's rules. Support: Up to £10,000 of expertise from a public knowledge provider such as a university or college; no cash is paid to the business. Practical use: Specialist knowledge for a new or improved product, service, process or business model. Main constraint: Website/app work, marketing, training, business plans and private providers are excluded; medium enterprises have an additional recent Grant for R&D restriction. Confirm the application portal opens on 28 September. Official Invest NI details. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Deadline: None published on the checked Invest NI page. For: Existing Invest NI clients and qualifying new clients in Northern Ireland food and drink processing, including meat and dairy; new clients must first meet onboarding criteria. Support: Competitive, negotiated capital grant with maximum aid intensities of 35% small, 25% medium and 20% large, not automatic rates. Project threshold: More than £300,000 eligible expenditure for a small company, £500,000 medium or £1 million large in the eligibility check. Practical use: Eligible processing plant, equipment and related software to improve productivity, innovation or sustainability. Main constraint: This is for processing investment, not ordinary farm machinery. Check Annex I, rural benefit, accounts/turnover, Invest NI client criteria and whether a project already started. Official Invest NI initiative and eligibility check. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Status: DAERA continues the scheme and has taken over Northern Ireland administration from the 2026 scheme year; this is not an open individual-grower grant call. For: Recognised fruit and vegetable Producer Organisations and their approved operational programmes. Support and practical use: Aid under approved collective programmes, subject to recognition and programme terms. Main constraint: An individual grower should check PO membership and scheme guidance rather than assume direct eligibility. Official DAERA scheme information. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Scheme year: 2026; opt-in is required once. For: Farm businesses finishing eligible clean beef cattle born and bred in NI, subject to FSP and retention rules. Payment: DAERA states £75 per eligible animal in 2026; the maximum slaughter age is 27 months. Practical relevance: Check whether qualifying slaughtered animals and the business meet DAERA's rules. Main constraint: This does not fund equipment or a project. Official DAERA payment scheme. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Scheme year: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. For: Qualifying Northern Ireland suckler businesses with eligible calving events and FSP eligibility. Payment: DAERA states £100 per qualifying calving event, tied to age at first calving or calving interval targets. Practical relevance: Check herd records, event registration and opt-in. Main constraint: This is a productivity payment, not a capital grant; the 2026/27 targets and other conditions apply. Official DAERA payment scheme. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Status: Applications closed 9 June 2026; DAERA says payments began 1 September. For: Qualifying Northern Ireland farm businesses. Practical relevance: Existing applicants can check their claim and DAERA notifications. Main constraint: Annual farm support, not an equipment grant; no 2027 application window is assumed. Official DAERA FSP page. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme: Round 1 closed 11:59pm, 3 September 2026. Await a new DAERA call; no next-round deadline, item list or rates are assumed. Do not buy an item expecting a future grant. DAERA Round 1 status. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Farming with Nature: Transition Year 2 applications are closed; DAERA says decisions are issuing. The Higher strand is also currently closed and DAERA says it will invite eligible businesses for the next tranche. Future windows and terms require fresh confirmation. DAERA Transition Year 2 · DAERA package status. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Farming for the Generations: Main scheme planned for late 2026; full terms and launch date remain unannounced. Rural Support's Farming in Partnerships pilot is a separate existing route for farms without successors and new entrants. DAERA programme update. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
CAFRE Business Sustainability Groups Tranche 2: Closed 4pm, 28 August 2026. Adviser-led groups are knowledge support, not a cash grant; await any new intake. CAFRE closure notice. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Rural Business Development Grant 2026/27: Closed noon, 30 July 2026. The past round supported trading rural microbusiness capital, but mainstream agricultural activity under a Category 1 DAERA business ID was excluded. No future round or terms assumed. DAERA historical guidance. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Small Woodland Grant Scheme: Closed; watch Forest Service for any new announcement rather than applying past terms. DAERA forestry grants. Last checked: 25 September 2026.
Use these questions to find an official page worth reading. They cannot tell you that you are eligible. Are you a Northern Ireland farm, horticulture producer, food processor, recognised producer organisation, or a separate trading rural enterprise? Are you planning woodland, production innovation, public-provider expertise, processing investment, habitat work, succession, or checking an ongoing payment? Do you know your DAERA business ID category, land ownership or control, and rough project cost? “Not sure” is a valid answer.
A possible scheme to investigate is one whose stated audience, activity and scale appear to fit; open its official eligibility guidance. More information needed applies when ownership, business category, scale or other conditions are unknown. Outside the stated scope applies where the official page explicitly excludes the activity, such as ordinary farm machinery under AFII, website/app work under Innovation Vouchers, food processing under the horticulture pilot, or mainstream Category 1 farming under the historical rural microbusiness scheme. These are screening prompts only; official administrators decide applications. No farm ID, name or address is collected on this page.
Next checks: Confirm the Innovation Voucher portal at 9am on 28 September; check horticulture daily through 30 September; revisit vouchers before 16 October and forestry before 19 October. Every card will be reviewed against its official source when its status or deadline changes.