Amid rising frustration over chaotic green funding schemes, farmers now have a new lifeline: a directory designed to make sense of an increasingly tangled system.
Strutt & Parker has launched an online resource bringing together a wide range of nature-focused funding options, aiming to help landowners navigate what has become a fragmented and fast-changing landscape.
Many farmers say the constant closure and reshaping of schemes makes it increasingly difficult to work out what support still exists. The directory is available at rural.struttandparker.com.
Lauren Clarke, a natural capital advisor at Strutt & Parker’s Exeter office, said recent policy changes had unsettled the sector.
She explained that the closure of key government schemes, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and capital grants, had “created uncertainty in the funding landscape for farmers and landowners”, leaving a noticeable gap in accessible support at a time when “nature recovery and climate resilience is hugely important”.
Despite this, Clarke said a variety of grants remain available to help farmers create, restore or enhance environmental features. Options still exist for projects such as woodland creation, hedgerow planting and species-rich grassland, with opportunities drawn from both public and private sources.
The new directory brings together schemes run by Defra, the Forestry Commission, water companies and charities, offering a single reference point for those unsure where to begin.
Clarke added that while many of the current funding options are “much narrower in their focus than the SFI” — and that the industry is keenly awaiting its return in 2026 — farmers want clarity on alternatives now. “We wanted to make it simple for them to see what may be on offer,” she said.
