Credit: JoJo's Vineyard
Round 2 of the Farming Futures Automation and Robotics competition is now open for applications.
The £20 million competition is part of the Farming Innovation Programme. It supports collaborative projects developing practical automation and robotics technologies that help farmers, growers and foresters improve productivity, manage labour pressures and make everyday tasks more efficient.
Funding is available for innovative tools and systems that address real-world challenges across agriculture, horticulture and forestry in England, including activities such as planting, crop management and harvesting.
The competition is designed to bring together researchers, businesses and industry partners to develop solutions with clear commercial potential and practical on-farm benefits.
This round is open to a broader range of sectors than the 2023 competition. It includes ornamental plant propagation, growing and monitoring, where technologies could also have applications in food-producing horticulture.
Eligible forestry projects include tree nursery and planting operations, woodland monitoring and woodland management systems. Projects focused on heavy machinery and harvesting operations are not eligible.
Apply nowProjects must be collaborative, have a total value of between £500,000 and £2.5 million, and demonstrate how they will address industry challenges and support sustainable growth.
Full details, including eligibility criteria, application guidance and how to apply, are available through the Innovation Funding Service.
The deadline to apply is 30 September 2026 at 11am.
Join our webinarsIf you’d like to learn more about the competition and how to apply, Innovate UK will host a series of webinars this month.
Briefing for applicants
This webinar will provide information about the aims, scope and content of the competition. The team will provide details of the application process, eligibility, assessment processes and what support is available for applicants. There will also be a Q&A session where you can put your questions to the team.
This webinar will take place 6 August at 2pm.
Consortia building
This webinar will cover the content and aims of the competition including consortium building advice and networking. During the event, you can meet others interested in the competition and explore potential collaborations. There will also be a Q&A session where you can put your questions to the team.
This webinar will take place 13 August at 10am.
If you can't attend any of these sessions, you will be able to access the recordings on our webinars page.
Case studies: automation in farmingAutomation and robotics have the potential to effectively respond to real farm needs.
Vineyard Information System for Technology and Automation (VISTA) Credit: JoJo's VineyardIn 2023, we awarded £786,220 to fund a project developing an open-source digital mapping platform for vineyards to support data-driven and autonomous farming.
Outfield Technologies Ltd are leading on this, alongside the UK Agri-Tech Centre, JoJo’s Vineyard, Antobot, the University of Lincoln and Vinescapes.
The Vineyard Information System for Technology and Automation (VISTA) project is developing high-resolution vineyard maps using drone and robotic technology.
Designed with growers and agri-tech companies in mind, these maps will help to speed up adoption of automation. The maps are easy to integrate with existing farming systems and support a shift to more data-driven activities.
One application of the technology is improving harvest planning. By generating highly accurate yield estimates, growers can make better informed decisions, secure the best prices for their crops and reduce the amount of crop waste.
The maps also support precision growing by creating maps for GPS-guided machinery which allow chemicals or fertilisers to be applied in varying rates. This will help to reduce the amount of chemicals used and could improve crop yields.
The project aims to help vineyard growers in England improve productivity, profitability and sustainability, while creating systems that could be adopted internationally.
Agaricus Robotic Harvester Credit: Agaricus RoboticsLed by Agaricus Robotics alongside Littleport Mushrooms and the University of Lincoln, this project was awarded £772,425 in funding in 2023.
The team developed the world's first robotic mushroom harvesting system used in a commercial setting.
They built a highly accurate robotic harvester that scans the mushroom bed prior to picking and uses a soft gripper to pick the mushrooms with minimal damage. It measures and trims the mushroom stalks to the desired length as specified by the farm, minimising farm waste.
The technology aims to increase productivity, reduce labour shortages and production costs. It also has the potential to cut food waste and strengthen the UK's leadership in the world of advanced agricultural robotics.
Stay informedYou can connect with others interested in this competition by joining the Innovate UK Farming Innovation Programme LinkedIn group.
We will share more updates about innovation funding on the Farming Blog. Subscribe to get a notification whenever a new post is published.
https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026/08/03/apply-now-for-automation-and-robotics-funding/
seen at 16:37, 3 August in Farming.