Fund On-Farm Trials and Demonstrations: Full ADOPT Grant Round Five — Share of £4.5 million for England-based Farming, Growing and Forestry Businesses

If you run a farm, manage woodland, or grow commercial crops in England and you have a practical idea that could change how people work the land — this grant exists to help you prove it in the field. Innovate UK is offering a share of up to £4.5 million for on-farm trial and demonstration projects through the Full ADOPT grant (round five). The goal is simple: test real solutions where they matter most, show clear benefits, and persuade other farmers to adopt them.

This isn’t money for abstract research. It’s for doing the messy, muddy, convincing work of a practical trial: set up demonstrations, collect repeatable evidence, run farmer-led events, and build the case that a product, practice or piece of kit deserves wider use. The deadline is firm — 15 January 2026 at 11:00 — and the competition expects collaborative projects where the lead must be an active farming, growing or forestry business based in England.

Read on for a complete guide to whether you should apply, how to structure a proposal that reviewers will respect, and the tactical steps to move from idea to funded demonstration.

At a Glance

Why This Opportunity Matters (Three short paragraphs)

Money for real-world trials is rare. Many grants focus on lab work or modelling; few prioritise proving an idea in the place where it will actually be used. That’s the strength of ADOPT: it funds demonstration and evidence gathering on working farms and woodlands so other practitioners can see results for themselves.

If your project can show measurable reductions in cost, time, emissions, or labour — or clear increases in yield, resilience or biodiversity — this funding helps you convert a promising approach into a demonstrable case study. Funded demonstrations tend to be the persuasive nudge neighbours need: seeing a method in practice, with transparent data, makes adoption far more likely.

Beyond cash, funded ADOPT projects often gain access to networks: farmer groups, extension services, and Innovate UK’s reach. Use that network to get your findings shared at farm walks, regional events, and through trade press — the faster you translate trial results into peer-to-peer learning, the better your impact score will look to reviewers.

What This Opportunity Offers (200+ words)

At its core, Full ADOPT funds the bridge from “this looks promising” to “this can actually work on my farm.” Grants under this call will cover the costs of setting up trials and demonstrations: purchasing or hiring equipment, paying seasonal labour for trial set-up and monitoring, buying consumables, and covering travel and event costs to show results to other farmers.

Importantly, ADOPT funding is intended to support activities that lead to adoption — not just isolated measurements. That means money for demonstration events, production of clear farmer-facing summaries, short technical guides, and dissemination activities is valuable. If your project includes a plan to measure outcomes (financial, environmental, or operational) and a realistic pathway for others to copy what you did, that strengthens the proposal.

Because the fund is shared across multiple projects, expect awards to vary by scale. Some projects will get modest sums to run several coordinated on-farm trials; others may secure larger awards for multi-site demonstrations. Even if you only need funds for a focused trial—say testing regen grazing rotations with monitoring plots—the grant can make that happen, while connecting your work to a broader push to accelerate practical innovation in agriculture and forestry.

Who Should Apply (200+ words)

This competition is built for practitioners. To lead a project, you must be an active farming, growing or forestry business based in England and able to prove that you’re an established business. That includes sole traders and partnerships — so small, family-run operations can lead if they can show trading history and capability.

But you can’t go it alone; the competition is open only to collaborations. At minimum, your project must include at least one other farming business based in the UK. That partner could be a neighbouring farm willing to host comparative plots, a regional forestry business testing a different management technique, or a grower in another county proving regional robustness.

You should apply if:

• You have a practical intervention that needs in-field proof: new equipment, a changed cropping sequence, an alternative pest control method, a soil amendment approach, or a forestry thinning regime, for example.
• You can present clear measurable outcomes that matter to farmers: cost per hectare, yield per input unit, labour hours saved, carbon balance, or disease incidence rates.
• You can organise at least one other farming partner to host or collaborate on trials.
• You have the organisational capacity to run demonstrations, gather data, and host outreach events.

Non-farming collaborators — universities, technology providers, supply chain businesses, or consultancy groups — are welcome as partners, but the lead must remain a qualifying farming/growing/forestry business in England. Think of academic or technical partners as capacity multipliers: they bring measurement skills and credibility, while you bring the lived reality and ability to show the method in practice.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application (300+ words)

1. Build farmer-to-farmer credibility first. Funders want to see that your approach speaks to real farm decisions. Get letters from farmers who will host demonstrations and commit to attendance at dissemination events. A peer endorsement carries enormous weight.

2. Design trials so results are obvious and repeatable. Use split-plots, control plots, or before-and-after measurements. Define your primary metric up front (e.g., tonnes DM per hectare, diesel litres saved, nitrogen leaching change). Reviewers are tired of vague outcomes; give them numbers they can verify.

3. Show an adoption pathway. It’s not enough to test — explain how you will persuade others. Plan farm walks, short practical factsheets, short video clips, and regional demonstration days. Commit to producing a simple one-page guide that other farmers can follow.

4. Budget for monitoring and data collection. Many farming projects underfund the monitoring that makes results convincing. Include costs for sensors, lab analysis, technician time, and data processing. Accurate numbers beat anecdotes.

5. Spread trials across conditions. If feasible, run the demonstration across more than one site or soil type. A single successful field is interesting; several successful fields make a persuasive case for wider adoption.

6. Be realistic about scale and timeline. Reviewers dislike overreach. Propose a clear, achievable set of activities that can be completed and evaluated within your planned timeframe. If you want to do a long-term trial, design a phase 1 demonstration that produces useful adoption-ready outputs within the funded period.

7. Prepare the business paperwork early. You’ll need to show trading history, bank details, and evidence you’re an established business. For sole traders and partnerships, gather invoices, tax returns, or business bank statements that show activity. Missing paperwork is a common and avoidable rejection trigger.

8. Plan dissemination with local networks. Contact regional farm advisory groups, local levy boards, and commodity bodies early. If a network commits to promote your demonstration days, note that in your application.

9. Use plain English. Describe methods and outcomes in farmer-friendly terms. If reviewers are farmers or advisors, they’ll appreciate clarity more than technical jargon.

10. Treat the application like a short research project plan: clear aims, methods, timelines, milestones, risks, and measurable outputs. Check that every cost ties to a deliverable.

Application Timeline (150+ words)

Work backward from the deadline: 15 January 2026 at 11:00.

• 10–12 weeks before deadline (late October–early November 2025): Finalise your project concept and confirm key partners. Many partnerships fall apart if you wait too long to ask people to commit.

• 8 weeks before (mid-November 2025): Draft the project narrative, list required evidence of business status, and assign writing roles. Start preparing monitoring and budget details.

• 6 weeks before (late November 2025): Obtain letters of support, partner CVs, and evidence documents. Run the draft by one experienced reviewer (a farm adviser or colleague who has applied for grants before).

• 4 weeks before (mid-December 2025): Complete full application, detailed budget, risk register, and Gantt chart. Get a final read from someone not directly involved — if they can follow the logic, you’re in good shape.

• 2 weeks before (1–8 January 2026): Final edits, proofing, and upload trial. Many systems experience holiday slowdowns; don’t leave uploading to the last day.

• 48+ hours before (submit by 13 January 2026): Submit early. Confirm application uploaded and receipts logged. If possible, print a PDF of the submitted application for your records.

After submission, if awarded, expect set-up work to begin within weeks: purchasing, risk assessments, and scheduling of demonstration events. Build time for permissions, health and safety checks, and any animal welfare or environmental consents needed for your trial.

Required Materials (150+ words)

The official guidance on the Innovation Funding Service will list exact required documents, but prepare the following in advance:

• Project description and methodology: Clear aims, trial design, data collection methods, and timeline (Gantt chart). Explain who will do what and when.

• Detailed budget and justification: Itemise costs (equipment, staff time, travel, consumables, event costs). Explain why each line is necessary.

• Evidence of business status: Bank statements, account summaries, tax documents, VAT registration or HMRC correspondence — enough to show you are an established operating business.

• Partner letters of support and roles: Signed letters stating the partner’s commitments, what plots or resources they’ll provide, and event hosting agreements.

• CVs or bios of key personnel: Show relevant experience — trial management, data collection, or extension work.

• Risk register and health & safety plan: Address on-farm risks and mitigation measures, especially if machinery or chemicals are involved.

• Monitoring and evaluation plan: Define metrics, measurement frequency, and who will analyse the data.

• Dissemination plan: Events, outputs, and estimated audience reach.

Prepare these items early; gathering partner letters and business documents often takes longer than expected.

What Makes an Application Stand Out (200+ words)

Reviewers will look for clarity, practicality, and evidence that the results will be credible and repeatable. Projects that stand out typically combine:

• Clear, measurable outcomes: A good application names a small set of primary metrics (e.g., percentage reduction in input costs, change in yield, hours of labour saved) and shows how those will be measured.

• Strong farmer leadership and buy-in: If the lead is an active farmer with a history of managing trials or events, that builds confidence. Letters from farming partners that commit land, time and attendance at demonstration events are powerful.

• Replication potential: Projects that show the approach works across different soils, microclimates or farm sizes score well. If you can demonstrate applicability across a region or to multiple farm types, say so.

• Cost-effectiveness and clear next steps: Explain the realistic cost for an average farm to adopt the practice after the trial. If your intervention requires expensive kit, include a plan for access — rental, service providers, or co-op purchase models.

• A realistic dissemination plan: Funders want results to reach peers. Commit to tangible outputs (e.g., three farm walks with attendance targets, short how-to videos, one-page guides) and show prior experience running such events where possible.

• Data transparency and independence: Independent measurement or third-party data analysis, and a plan to make results publicly available in a concise, farmer-friendly format, increases trust.

Common Mistakes to Avoid (200+ words)

1. Vague outcomes. Saying “we will improve soil health” without defining measurable indicators is a fast way to lose credibility. Define your metrics and methods.

2. Underfunded monitoring. If your budget ignores the cost of soil tests, sensors or technician hours, your results will be anecdotal. Fund measurement properly.

3. Weak partner commitments. Letters that say “we support the idea” aren’t enough. Get signed statements that explain exactly what each partner will provide: land area, labour days, data, or event hosting.

4. Single-site arrogance. A successful single field trial is encouraging but not convincing for broader adoption. If you can’t run multiple sites, design the trial to include clear baseline comparisons and replication within the site.

5. Ignoring scaling costs. Suppose a result is positive but requires £100k of capital per farm; adoption will be limited. Show a pathway to scale: service models, cooperative purchases, or cheaper alternatives.

6. Late submission and missing paperwork. Business evidence and partner letters often cause delays. Gather proof of trading status early and submit at least 48 hours ahead of the deadline.

Each mistake has a fix: define metrics, budget for measurement, secure concrete partner commitments, design for replication, calculate scaling economics, and prepare paperwork well in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions (200+ words)

Q: Can an academic institution lead the project?
A: No — the lead must be an active farming, growing or forestry business based in England. Academic partners are valuable collaborators but cannot lead.

Q: Can partners be outside England?
A: Your lead must be based in England, and you must collaborate with at least one other farming business based in the UK. Partners outside the UK may participate in advisory roles, but check the official guidance for eligibility of international partners.

Q: Is match funding required?
A: The call summary does not state match funding explicitly. However, many Innovate UK calls accept applications with contribution from partners. Check the competition page for details and prepare to explain how any unfunded portion will be covered.

Q: Can capital items be purchased?
A: Capital items (equipment) are often fundable if they are essential to the trial. Budget for depreciation or explain how the asset will be used beyond the trial. Confirm specifics on the official page.

Q: Will projects get help with dissemination?
A: The fund supports dissemination activities if they are part of your plan. Outline concrete outputs and events; funding them will bolster your application.

Q: Can I submit more than one project?
A: Typically you can submit only one proposal per lead organisation per competition. Verify on the official page and coordinate with partners to choose the strongest single application.

Q: What happens after funding decisions?
A: Expect contract negotiation, set-up, risk assessments, and payment schedules. Plan for monthly or quarterly reporting and for hosting dissemination events during the funded period.

How to Apply / Get Started

Ready to take the next step? Here’s a practical sequence:

1. Visit the official opportunity page and read the full guidance: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/full-adopt-grant-round-five/

2. Confirm eligibility details and register in the Innovation Funding Service (if required). Account setup can take time, so don’t delay.

3. Convene your core partners and assign responsibilities: who writes the methodology, who provides business evidence, who will handle data analysis, and who will manage dissemination.

4. Prepare your evidence pack early: business documents, partner letters, CVs, and a clear budget.

5. Draft a short one-page summary of your project aim, primary metric, and adoption plan. Use that to recruit partner sign-offs and get focused feedback.

6. Submit at least 48 hours before the deadline (15 January 2026, 11:00). Save copies of everything you upload.

If you have specific eligibility questions or need clarifications, contact Innovate UK or the programme contacts listed on the opportunity page. They can confirm technical details and point you to guidance documents.

Get started now — ideas tested in real fields are what change practice. Visit the official opportunity page to read the full details and apply: https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/full-adopt-grant-round-five/