Emergency Drought Grant applications are now closed

The grant is available to farm owners and tenant farmers who are actively operating a farming business and whose principal farming business is located within an area officially designated as being in drought.

Applicants must meet all grant eligibility criteria and provide the required supporting information and evidence.

The Emergency Drought Grant provides fixed £2,000 grants.

It is a personal support grant for the applicant and their household. It can be used towards personal and household living expenses.

It cannot be used to pay farm or business expenses.

No. This grant is specifically targeted at farm owners and tenant farmers who are actively operating a farming business within an area officially designated as being in drought.

Farm workers who need support can contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444 to discuss what other support may be available.

No. Applicants must currently be actively operating an eligible farming business.

Retired or non-working farmers who need support can contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444 to discuss what other support may be available.

The farm business accounts or bank statement are required to confirm your eligibility for the grant, not to determine how the grant will be spent.

The Emergency Drought Grant is specifically for farm owners and tenant farmers who are actively operating a farming business in an eligible drought area. The documents help RABI confirm that you are connected to and actively operating the farming business you are applying in respect of.

The Emergency Drought Grant is only available to farming businesses located within areas officially designated as being in drought.

The Emergency Drought Grant will open in regional waves and information about the geographical areas included within each wave will be available on RABI’s website.

Eligibility is based on the location of your principal farming business rather than your home address.

Not necessarily. The county information provided by RABI gives a broad description of the areas covered by each regional wave.

Official drought boundaries do not always follow county boundaries. RABI will therefore verify that the principal farming business is located within an area officially designated as being in drought.

If you need support but are not eligible for this grant please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444. A member of the team can discuss your circumstances and the wider support that may be available to you.

No. The Emergency Drought Grant is specifically targeted at farming businesses located within areas officially designated as being in drought.

Areas experiencing prolonged dry weather but which have not been formally designated as being in drought are not eligible for this grant.

Yes, subject to meeting all other grant eligibility criteria. Geographical eligibility is determined by the location of the principal farming business rather than the applicant’s home address.

RABI will review changes to official drought status throughout the grant period.

Where a new area is officially designated as being in drought during the grant period, RABI will consider whether and how that area can be accommodated within the remaining grant waves and available grant funding.

Only one £2,000 grant can be awarded in respect of each eligible farming business.

Where a farming business is operated by more than one person, including a partnership or family farming business, only one application can be made on behalf of that business.

Multiple applications from different individuals relating to the same farming business will not result in additional grants.

The “one grant per farm business” rule is used to limit the number of applications that can be made in connection with the same farming business. It does not mean the grant is paid to or intended for the business. The £2,000 grant is for the successful applicant’s personal and household living expenses.

The Emergency Drought Grant provides a maximum of one grant per farm business, rather than one grant per farm or holding.

If you operate more than one farm or holding as part of the same farming business, only one application can be made.

You will be required to provide evidence confirming your connection to the farming business you are applying on behalf of.

You will need to upload either recent farm business accounts or a farm business bank statement.

The documentation you provide must clearly show your name, and this must match the name given on your application so we can verify your eligibility.

If you are not named on either the farm business accounts or farm business bank statement provided, your application will not meet the grant eligibility requirements.

RABI may request further information or evidence where this is required to confirm eligibility.

The application includes a section where you can explain how the drought has affected your farm business and the pressure this has placed on your household finances.

Use this section to describe your individual circumstances and any knock-on effects, such as additional feed costs.

RABI may ask for further information if needed.

The quickest way to apply is through the dedicated application form on RABI’s website.

Midlands Phase 5 opens at 12.00 midday on Monday 5 October 2026. On subsequent scheduled days, the form may reopen at 9.00am, but only if Phase 5 funding remains available. Please see the full scheduled opening times.

Later application windows are not guaranteed. Applications may close shortly after opening if the available funding is fully committed.

If you are unable to apply online, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444 and a member of the team will assist you with making an application.

No. The voicemail application route follows the same opening time as the regional phase. Messages left before the official opening time cannot be treated as applications made during that phase.

If you are unable to upload the required supporting documentation or are having difficulty completing the online application, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444 for assistance.

If your bank details are not accepted by OneID, or you are experiencing difficulty completing this part of the application, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444.

A member of the team can assist you with completing your application.

Check your junk or spam folder and use any resend option shown on screen. Do not repeatedly request the code to be resent, as this may time you out.

If you still cannot progress, contact the Helpline on 0800 188 4444 and leave a voicemail by pressing 1 when you are placed in the queue. Please then keep your phone on loud and nearby until you receive the call back.

You will receive one call back. Provided you left a voicemail while the campaign was still open and answer the return call, you will be able to submit an application.

If RABI becomes aware of a verification issue during a live phase, we will publish an update on this page as soon as possible.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive a confirmation email containing your Unique Identifying Number (UIN).

Please retain your UIN as you may need to quote this if you contact RABI about your application.

If you do not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam or junk folder. If you are still unable to locate it, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444.

Once your application has been received, it will be assessed against the grant eligibility criteria and the supporting evidence provided.

RABI will contact you to advise whether your application has been successful. If your application does not meet the grant eligibility requirements, you will be advised that your application has been declined.

If you successfully submitted your application while your regional grant wave was open and received a Unique Identifying Number (UIN), your application will still be considered even if the grant wave closes before it has been processed.

You do not need to submit another application.

If you did not receive a UIN following submission, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444.

Each regional grant wave has a maximum allocation of £400,000, providing funding for up to 200 eligible farm businesses.

If the available funding is fully committed before the advertised closing date, the regional phase will close early and no further applications will be accepted. This may happen shortly after the phase opens.

The remaining scheduled daily application windows will not take place once that phase’s funding has been fully committed. Please do not assume that listing several dates means funding will remain available throughout the week.

No. Applications must be made during the regional grant wave covering the location of your principal farming business.

If you miss the relevant application window and need support, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444 to discuss what other support may be available.

If a daily application window has ended: the form may reopen at the next scheduled opening time, provided funding remains available and the regional phase has not ended. Please check the opening times and current status on this page.

If the regional phase has closed because its funding is fully committed, or its final closing time has passed: no further applications to that phase can be accepted. The form will not reopen for any remaining scheduled windows after the funding is fully committed.

If you successfully submitted your application and received a UIN before the grant wave closed, your application will still be assessed.

If you missed the opportunity to apply and need support, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444.

The Emergency Drought Grant is only one part of the support available from RABI.

If you need support but are not eligible for this grant, or the grant has closed, please contact RABI’s 24/7 Helpline on 0800 188 4444. A member of the team can discuss your circumstances and the wider support that may be available to you.

If you are unable to get straight through to a call handler, it is recommended that you leave a voicemail requesting to be called back to submit an application, rather than staying in the queue.

To leave a voicemail, please press 1 once you are placed in the telephone queue. Please then ensure that you have your phone on loud and nearby until you have received the call back. You will receive one call back, and provided that you left a voicemail whilst the campaign was still open, and answer the call back, you are guaranteed to be able to submit an application.

Please note: Staying in the telephone queue does not guarantee you will be able to submit an application as the campaign may close before you are able to speak to a call handler.

The quickest way to apply is through our website, but if you are unable to apply in this way, please contact our helpline on 0800 188 4444 and a member of the team will assist you with making an application.

As this grant is only available to farm owners or tenant farmers actively operating a farm business, you will be asked to answer a set of questions during the online application process to ensure the grant goes farmers who meet this criteria. The main areas of consideration are as follows:

1. Applicant must be a farm owner or tenant farmer currently actively operating a farm business.
2. The principal farming business must be located within an area officially designated as being in drought at the time the relevant regional grant window opens.
3. Provide evidence of the farming business through the upload of appropriate documentation, such as recent farm business accounts (dated within the last two years) or farm business bank statement (from the last month). The applicant must be named on the document provided.
4. Be experiencing significant financial pressure directly attributable to current drought conditions.
5. Financial criteria i.e., do you (as a family) have less than £500 disposable income per calendar month after critical living expenses? OR are you in receipt of statutory benefits that indicate a low-income household?

Typical critical living expenses, as defined by Joseph Rowntree Calculator, are Rent/Mortgage, Council Tax, Water Rates, Food, Utilities, Insurance, Childcare, Travel Expenses.

6. Successful applicants are not required to provide evidence of how funds are spent.
7. Applicants must be able to provide the relevant personal banking details for EDC 2026 payment. Please note the account must be in the applicant’s name singularly. Joint personal accounts will not be accepted. Business accounts will not be accepted.
8. Successful EDC 2026 applicants will be considered for additional support, offered by RABI, which can be accessed via the RABI 24hr helpline 0800 188 4444.
9. All applicants agree to permit follow up contact from the RABI support team, where additional support is requested to allow us to discuss services and support that you may be entitled to from RABI.

Applications will be reviewed against the following areas:

1. All mandatory fields completed on the application form.
2. All necessary information provided i.e., recent farm business accounts (dated within the last two years) or farm business bank statement (from the last month). The applicant must be named on the document provided.

Please note: we can only pay this grant into an account that includes the applicant’s name, and it must be a personal bank account. We cannot pay into a joint personal account, or a business account of any type.

3. Application information meeting the eligibility criteria relevant for the EDC 2026.
4. Truth declaration completed.
5. T&Cs agreed to.

All completed applications will be reviewed against the above criteria.

All completed applications will receive an email to confirm we have received your application. This email will contain your unique identifying number (UIN). If you have not received it, check your spam/junk folder regularly. We recommend marking our emails as ‘Not spam’ if you find any there.

A member of the RABI team will be in contact with you to let you know if your application has been successful. We aim to contact you via email within 4 weeks of your application. Please avoid sending follow-up emails, as this will slow down the process. If we need more information, we’ll contact you directly.

If your application is approved, RABI aim to make payment within 4 weeks of approving your application.

If your application does not meet RABI’s eligibility requirements, you will be advised that your request has been declined.

RABI reserves the right to request additional supporting information where required.

If you do not have an email address, RABI will contact you by telephone.

If the RABI assessment team does not reach agreement on an application, RABI’s Director of Services reserves the right to make the final decision.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the assessment process, you can lodge a complaint which will be dealt with in accordance with RABI’s complain policy: Complaints policy & procedure – RABI

With your consent, RABI may use information provided in your application, in anonymised or pseudonymised form, for research, evaluation and insight purposes. This helps us understand need, improve our services, demonstrate impact, and inform policy and sector-wide learning that benefits the farming community.

Where application data is used for research, it will be anonymised or pseudonymised wherever possible before analysis. This means individuals will not be identifiable in any reports, publications or shared findings.

Research may be carried out by RABI staff or by trusted research partners acting on our behalf and subject to appropriate data protection safeguards.

Your decision to consent or not consent to the use of your data for research purposes will not affect your application, the assessment of eligibility, or the support you receive from RABI.

You may withdraw your consent for the use of your data in research at any time by contacting RABI at campaigns@rabi.org.uk. This will not affect any research already undertaken using anonymised data. Once data has been anonymised and included in analysis, it may not be possible to remove it.

Further information about how we process and protect personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy: Privacy and cookie policy – RABI.

Where applicants separately consent, RABI may also contact them to invite participation in future research or evaluation activities related to our work.

Participation in any future research will be voluntary, and choosing not to take part will not affect any current or future support.

By submitting a completed application form, either online or over the phone, you agree for your personal details to be processed by RABI in accordance with our Privacy Policy: Privacy and cookie policy – RABI