The UK government has launched a £20 million funding competition to accelerate development of agricultural robots and automation technologies, aiming to help farmers reduce dependence on seasonal labour and improve productivity.
The competition, part of a £123 million farming research package this year, expands to include livestock, forestry, and ornamental horticulture projects for the first time, and sits within a broader commitment to invest at least £200 million in farming innovation by 2030.
What happened
The UK government announced a £20 million funding competition for agri-tech businesses, researchers, and farmers to develop robotic systems for planting, monitoring, and harvesting crops. The competition, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, expands eligibility beyond crops to include livestock, forestry, and ornamental horticulture—a shift from a 2023 round.
Why it matters
The UK faces seasonal labour shortages during harvest peaks, and automation could help farmers ease recruitment pressure while boosting yields and profits. This funding round is part of a broader £123 million farming research package this year and supports the government's commitment to invest at least £200 million in farming innovation by 2030.
What to watch
Applications are now open through Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service. Companies like Fieldwork Robotics (which developed a raspberry-picking robot) and Roboscientific (developing breath-analysis technology to detect bovine respiratory disease in dairy cows) show the types of innovations the scheme supports.
The UK government, through farming minister Stephen Morgan, has launched a £20 million funding competition to support the development of robotic and automated technologies for agriculture. The competition is delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and aims to help farmers address seasonal labour shortages, improve productivity, and boost yields and profits. Announced as part of the government's Farming Innovation Programme, the competition follows a recent £53 million funding package, bringing the total available for farming research and technology this year to £123 million.
The funding scope covers a broad range of technologies. Agri-tech businesses working with researchers and farmers can apply to develop robotic systems capable of planting, monitoring, and harvesting crops. The government highlighted automation ranging from seed planting to fruit picking as priorities, with particular focus on helping farms during busy harvest periods. A significant change from a previous 2023 funding round is that the latest competition now includes livestock, forestry, and ornamental horticulture projects alongside traditional crop-focused innovations.
Several companies exemplify the type of innovation supported. Fieldwork Robotics has developed a raspberry-picking robot and is using previous government funding to improve the robot's durability and reliability ahead of commercial deployment. Roboscientific's DETECT project is developing technology that analyses the breath of dairy cows to detect bovine respiratory disease before symptoms become apparent. Forestry projects covering tree nurseries, planting operations, and woodland monitoring are also eligible, along with technologies developed for ornamental plants that could later be applied to food production.
Farming minister Stephen Morgan stated that the funding represents "a vote of confidence in British ingenuity" and a step towards modern, resilient farming as outlined in the government's Farming Roadmap. Chris Danks, head of agrifood at Innovate UK, emphasized that robotics and automation are becoming increasingly important tools for helping farmers improve productivity and build resilient businesses, and that the competition will accelerate innovations to address real-world challenges across agriculture. The funding competition sits within the UK government's broader commitment to invest at least £200 million in farming innovation by 2030. Applications are now open through Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service.
The UK government's £20 million funding competition reflects a direct response to labour shortages in agriculture, particularly during seasonal peaks when farms struggle to recruit enough workers. By placing this competition within a broader £123 million farming research package this year, and situating it as part of a larger £200 million farming innovation commitment through 2030, the government signals sustained investment in technology-driven solutions for British agriculture. The expansion of eligibility beyond crops to livestock, forestry, and ornamental horticulture—a change from the 2023 competition—indicates that automation challenges span the entire agricultural sector, not just food production. Innovate UK's emphasis on addressing "real-world challenges" and accelerating innovations "from concept to on-farm application" suggests a focus on practical, deployable technologies rather than experimental research.
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