The government has opened the Farming Recovery Fund to support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage to their land due to flooding this winter.

Under the scheme, eligible farmers can access grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return their land to the condition it was in before exceptional flooding due to Storm Henk.

Eligible farmers are being contacted directly by Rural Payments Agency (RPA) outlining the support available to them through the Farming Recovery Fund and how they can make a claim.

The fund forms part of a broader scheme called the Flood Recovery Framework which is activated in exceptional circumstances to support councils and communities following severe flooding.

The fund will initially be open in those local authority areas where the Flood Recovery Framework has already been activated to help farms which have experienced the highest levels of flooding. These are Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

Eligibility for the fund will remain under review by Defra to ensure it is supporting areas where farmland is most impacted. The further counties under review are Berkshire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire.

Farming Minster Mark Spencer said:

"I know how difficult this winter has been for farmers, with extreme weather such as Storm Henk having a devastating impact on both cropping and grazing, as well as damaging property and equipment.

"The Farming Recovery Fund will support farmers who suffered uninsurable damage with grants of up to £25,000, and sits alongside broader support in our farming schemes to improve flood resilience."

In January, the government announced its intention to open the fund and have consulted with stakeholders and developed an eligibility criteria. This analysis has identified fields that are eligible. This means the RPA can write to eligible farmers directly to invite them to claim and will allow payments to be made more quickly once a claim has been received.

Farmers are already eligible for support through the Flood Recovery Framework, including a grant of up to £2,500 as part of the Business Recovery Grant.

The last year has seen exceptionally heavy rainfall across the UK, with 2023 named by the Met Office as the 6th wettest year since its records began in 1836.