Farming Innovation Grant

provided by Anglian Water

Overview

This grant supports innovation towards finding local solutions to local water quality challenges in key priority catchments across the Anglian Water region.

Land to water connectivity influences raw water quality so slowing or breaking those pathways for losses helps reduce risks at source. See the priority areas map for local challenge details which include losses of: pesticides, soil and nutrients (which can also contribute to algal concern).

The Farm Innovation Grant is now entering its sixth year. It has already successfully supported 241 applicants with projects worth over £3.6 million, helping reduce risks to raw water quality across an area of over 113,000ha.

Read more below, and follow the application link at the bottom of this page to get started.

About the Farming Innovation Grant 2025-26

Improving water quality: Pesticides, nutrients, and soil erosion all affect raw water quality. If these risks can be reduced at source, we can use a wider range of sources and minimise the carbon cost of treatment to help meet demand. From our shared understanding of catchments and the evidence from previous trials, we know that land and water connectivity is key.

How much is available? There will be a maximum grant rate of £7,500/holding to help support farmers and share some of the risk associated to trialling new approaches, changing practices and/or scaling up ideas to be incorporated into business as usual.

Key dates:

Application form available online: 26th January 2026.
Applications will need to be submitted by 1st March 2026.
Assessments will be made and decisions confirmed in April 2026.
Payments will be made upon pre-agreed evidence having been sent in and approved before the end of August 2026 or by agreed arrangement with the local Anglian Water Catchment Advisor

Unlike other grants, there are no set options, so if you are considering anything which could help protect raw water quality from pesticides, nutrients or soil loss we want to hear from you. Land connectivity is key and by working and learning together we hope to find innovative solutions to local challenges.

Delivered by:

More information

We would like to hear from you if you are trying a new approach or expanding an existing approach that helps protect raw water quality.

There are no fixed options so we are keen to hear your innovative and unique ideas.
As a starter, previous projects have fallen into the following categories:

Soil Health and Resilience
Nutrient Management
Organic Materials Management
Pesticide Management
Livestock Management
Precision Farming
Water Resource Management
Out of Production
Natural Flood Management
Other

Measures that we have successfully supported include:

Second-hand equipment - see example in video below
Direct drill
Water bowser with integrated drinking trough
Low disturbance subsoiler
Fertiliser spreader with section control
Development of robotic weeding technology
Strip till cultivator
Precision fertiliser measures

Watch a brief video from one of the successful applicants last year:

Anglian Water Farming Innovation Grant successful applicant video

The grant will be competitive and to ensure fairness all applications will be assessed on potential raw water quality protection and the following criteria:

Location & connectivity to Anglian Water raw drinking water resources (priority areas)
Objectives/outputs being delivered in relation to local raw water quality challenges
Project's ability to meet local challenges and the scale of risk reduction
Learning opportunity and potential to expand
Funds requested vs farmer funding and any previous Anglian Water support received
Delivery timescale & length of benefit
Cost justification for both Anglian Water and applicant
Degree of innovation on your farm

If you have an idea which you feel could benefit Agriculture and Water sectors in protecting our soil and water resources but you are outside of a targeted area, please contact your nearest Catchment Advisor as shown in the further support and guidance section below.

As budget is limited, applications are invited from the currently prioritised Anglian Water drinking water catchments, with those from within focus areas (shown in purple within map) more likely to be successful.

See the map showing the focus areas

Open the map below and scroll/zoom to your location. If you are within a highlighted area of interest (Catchment) you can click on this area to see the local challenges to which we are seeking solutions.

Read the map background information.

Groundwater catchments

Specific groundwater catchments, as shown in the following maps, have also been brought in for this grant round:
•󠁏󠁏 Birchmoor
•󠁏󠁏 Lincs Limestone
•󠁏󠁏 North Lincs Chalk
•󠁏󠁏 North Norfolk
•󠁏󠁏 South Norfolk & Suffolk

Applications which link to reducing Nitrate leaching can be submitted from anywhere within these catchments’ main boundary line or the particularly targeted focus areas. If unsure please do contact your local Anglian Water advisor to check if you are within a groundwater catchment.

Read the FAQs document here.

For more information, including contact details for local catchment advisors, visit the Anglian Water website.