LENs: for farmers

LENs funds a range of regenerative agriculture practices. The most popular in 2024 were: reduced/no tillage, to minimise soil disturbance; reduced use of synthetic inputs, including fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides; planting and managing hedgerows; and keeping soils covered/living roots in the soil.

Innovation funding can be used for practices which are not pre-defined, such as trials relevant to a farm business or capital and in-field investments, which last year included direct drills, low disturbance subsoilers and yield monitoring on combine.

In 2024, farmers received between £150-300 per hectare on average for measures implemented.

You need to have an existing relationship or be willing to establish a relationship with one of the companies who engage with our network of farmers within each region*.  You’ll need to be able to implement actions that are of interest to funders, and that result in the outcomes they are looking for (such as GHG emission reductions, improved water quality or natural flood management).

No, currently there is no minimum or maximum size.

If you already work with one of the companies who manage our network of farmers in each region, you can speak to them and apply*. If not, then please use the contact form to get in touch.

Yes, you will be visited by a third-party provider once a year to assess the impact of the changes you are making on the farm. The results of this assessment will be shared with you and at an aggregated level with funders.

The sustainability results provided in your Farm Report will include things like:

• Soil organic matter content
• Nitrogen use efficiency
• Key biodiversity species score
• The extent to which the farm is practising regenerative land use and sustainable farming
• The amount of soil carbon sequestration from the current cropping year compared with previous year
• A breakdown of the farm practices that emit the most greenhouse gases

You can use these results to compare yourself to other farms in the region, help make business decisions and use this data to apply for additional schemes and funding.

Typically, after submitting evidence of your investment/practice, you will receive a payment. The timing depends on the details of your contracts, but is around 20 days. Each set of payment evidence is verified by your local LENs Operator and the relevant Funders, but may also be audited by LENs.

The evidence required for each measure varies, and is set out in both the Technical Guidance for each Trade year, and clearly stated in your contracts too.

The range of funders is determined by a region’s key crops and supply chains. Global food and drink companies are the main funders, including Diageo, Cereal Partners UK, Nestlé Purina, and PepsiCo. We also receive increasing investment from non-supply chain funders including water companies and local councils, who are interested in reducing the vulnerability of landscapes and their costs of operation.

LENs sets out to complement whatever government support there is to farming in your region. Accessing LENs funding does not prevent you from receiving public funding, but you cannot be paid twice to deliver the same thing.