Finance, Schemes & Compliance
Grant & Scheme Engine
Every scheme, all four nations, never miss a window again.
The flagship module and the reason the platform exists. One engine that discovers every scheme a business is eligible for across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, models the income under competing options, pre-fills the application from records the platform already holds, and warns before a window closes rather than after.
- 12 capabilities
- 7 linked schemes
- Flagship module
- Offline capable
- 12
- Capabilities in this module
- 6
- Interactive tools
- 7
- Linked support schemes
- 7
- Data integrations
- 6
- Measures reported
The ground reality
What is actually happening in scheme engine in the UK
On 11 March 2025 the English Sustainable Farming Incentive closed to new applications overnight once its £1.05 billion cap was reached, with 37,000 live agreements in place and no warning to those still preparing. The reset offer that followed cut actions from 102 to 71, introduced a £100,000 annual cap and committed to publishing budget-fill updates at 25, 50 and 75 per cent — an explicit response to that shock. Meanwhile Wales launched its Sustainable Farming Scheme on 1 January 2026, Scotland moved to a four-tier framework, and Northern Ireland replaced its transition payment with the Farm Sustainability Payment. Four divergent systems, four portals, four sets of deadlines.
Figures are as published at the time of writing. Farm policy and payment rates change frequently — verify against the primary source before relying on any number here.
In the field
Scheme engine, as it actually looks
Photography from working UK holdings alongside the interface that records it. Every frame below is a commissioned slot: the brief is stated until the photograph is taken.
Scheme Engine — a walkthrough
A working pass through scheme engine: entering the record once, and watching it appear in the evidence pack, the calendar and the scheme application without being typed again.
- 0:00 What the module is for
- 0:48 Entering the record
- 2:05 Where it appears next
- 3:20 The evidence pack
Photography slots state their own brief until the shot is commissioned, so the layout never shifts when real images arrive.
Capabilities
What Scheme Engine does
Every capability below is built on the same underlying record, so entering something once is enough for it to appear wherever it is needed.
Record and plan
- Complete four-nation scheme catalogue with objectives, eligibility, rates and windows
- Eligibility engine keyed on business, holding, land parcel and enterprise data
- Rules-as-data architecture so a scheme change is a data update, not an engineering release
Operate and monitor
- Whole-farm income optimiser across scheme actions subject to caps and area limits
- Cross-scheme double-funding and permitted-stacking rule checking
- Application pre-fill from the platform land, cropping and livestock records
Comply and evidence
- Window opening and closing alerts with budget-fill gauge tracking
- Deadline calendar covering every application, claim and evidence date
- Agreement register with actions, areas, payment schedule and end dates
Analyse and improve
- Evidence requirement tracking per action with automatic assembly
- Payment reconciliation against the agreement and claim
- Appeals and dispute workflow with evidence pack assembly
Interactive
Tools you actually use, not screens you read
These are working interfaces inside the module — maps, calculators, planners and dashboards that respond to your own holding data.
Eligibility wizard returning every scheme the business qualifies for, ranked by value
Eligibility wizard returning every scheme the business qualifies for, ranked by value
WizardWhole-farm optimiser maximising income within caps, area limits and rotational rules
Whole-farm optimiser maximising income within caps, area limits and rotational rules
ToolWhich-scheme-pays-more comparator between competing options on the same land
Which-scheme-pays-more comparator between competing options on the same land
ToolLive budget-fill gauges with a closure risk indicator per scheme
Live budget-fill gauges with a closure risk indicator per scheme
GaugeDeadline countdown board across all four nations
Deadline countdown board across all four nations
DashboardPayment reconciliation report showing expected against received
Payment reconciliation report showing expected against received
ToolEnd to end
How Scheme Engine runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Establish the business and holding identity
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Import land, cropping and livestock records
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Run eligibility across all four nations
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Model income under competing options
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Optimise within caps and stacking rules
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Pre-fill and submit the application
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Track window status and budget fill
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Manage the agreement, evidence, claim and payment
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Who uses it
Built around four real jobs, not one generic user
Each of these people needs something different from the same record. The module is designed so none of them has to work around the others.
English arable farmer
Optimising actions under the annual cap
Wants the highest-value compliant combination, calculated not guessed.
Welsh hill farmer
Choosing between legacy payment and the new scheme
Needs a like-for-like comparison of the whole-farm position.
Scottish crofter
Tier one and two with a whole farm plan
Needs conditionality tracked so payment is not lost on a technicality.
Northern Ireland suckler farmer
Area payment plus livestock schemes
Needs capping and conditionality modelled together.
Cross-border farmer
Land in two nations
Needs one view of a position that currently requires two portals.
Schemes and funding
Support schemes this module works with
Agrivencia holds these schemes as data, so eligibility, payment rates, caps and windows update the day they change rather than at the next software release.
Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Pay farmers for environmental actions taken alongside food production, as the principal replacement for area-based direct payments in England.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency EnglandCountryside Stewardship
Fund more complex, targeted and bespoke habitat management than the main incentive offer supports.
Defra / Natural England / Rural Payments Agency WalesSustainable Farming Scheme
Replace area-based direct payments in Wales with a scheme rewarding sustainable land management outcomes.
Welsh Government / Rural Payments Wales Northern IrelandFarm Sustainability Payment
Provide an area-based safety-net payment to Northern Ireland farm businesses with sustainability conditionality.
DAERA ScotlandScottish Base and Enhanced Level Direct Payments
Provide base level income support conditional on essential standards, with an enhanced tier for additional climate and nature action.
Scottish Government / Rural Payments and Inspections Division EnglandEnvironmental Land Management Capital Grants
Fund capital works supporting environmental outcomes — boundaries, water, air quality, natural flood management and infrastructure.
Defra / Rural Payments Agency EnglandFarming Equipment and Technology Fund
Contribute towards the cost of specified equipment and technology that improves productivity, slurry management or animal health and welfare.
Defra / Rural Payments AgencyRates, caps and windows change frequently and sometimes without notice. Always confirm against the current published scheme rules before applying.
Measurement
How you will know it is working
The module reports against these measures from the day it is switched on, so the value is demonstrable rather than assumed.
- 01Value of scheme income secured per business
- 02Applications submitted before window close
- 03Deadline miss rate
- 04Optimiser uplift against self-selected actions
- 05Evidence requirements met without manual assembly
- 06Payment reconciliation variance
Try it now
Four-Nation Scheme Eligibility Check
Answer six questions and see every UK support scheme your business is likely to be eligible for, ranked by indicative value.
How this is calculated
Eligibility is assessed against the catalogued rules for each scheme in your nation, filtered by area thresholds, enterprise type, tenure and any existing agreement that would exclude you. Indicative value applies published payment rates to your stated areas. It is a planning estimate, not an offer.
This tool gives an indication only. Eligibility is determined by the delivering body against the current published scheme rules, which change frequently.
Obligation calendar
What scheme engine asks of you, and when
Windows, deadlines and recurring obligations for England. Set a different nation and the calendar reconfigures; farm across a border and it shows both, reconciled.
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January 1 entry
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11 January: Scottish Base and Enhanced Level Direct Payments
Annual application, single application form.
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March 3 entries
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3 March: Run eligibility across all four nations
A recurring step in scheme engine.
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15 March: Import land, cropping and livestock records
A recurring step in scheme engine.
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16 March: Farm Sustainability Payment
Application from early March with a deadline in mid-May.
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May 1 entry
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26 May: Sustainable Farming Scheme
Scheme year runs to 31 December, with the single application form deadline in mid-May.
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June 3 entries
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5 June: Farming Transformation Fund
Round-based by theme.
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6 June: Model income under competing options
A recurring step in scheme engine.
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15 June: Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Two windows in 2026: window one from 30 June, window two from September.
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July 1 entry
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14 July: Slurry Infrastructure Grant
Round-based.
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August 1 entry
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2 August: Establish the business and holding identity
A recurring step in scheme engine.
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October 1 entry
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5 October: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
Round-based, usually open for a defined application period.
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November 2 entries
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12 November: Improving Farm Productivity Grant
Round-based.
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27 November: Environmental Land Management Capital Grants
Round-based, with rapid allocation once open.
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December 1 entry
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26 December: Countryside Stewardship
Rolling and round-based depending on the tier and option group.
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Payment schedule
What is due, and when it lands
Farm support arrives in instalments from several bodies on different calendars. Set against your own overdraft, the question is not how much but when — so the ledger is ordered by date, not by scheme.
| When | Payment | From | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 | Defra / Rural Payments Agency | — | Expected |
| March | Countryside Stewardship | Defra / Natural England / Rural Payments Agency | — | Agreed |
| May | Sustainable Farming Scheme | Welsh Government / Rural Payments Wales | — | Eligible |
| March | Farm Sustainability Payment | DAERA | — | Eligible |
| March | Scottish Base and Enhanced Level Direct Payments | Scottish Government / Rural Payments and Inspections Division | — | Eligible |
| June | Environmental Land Management Capital Grants | Defra / Rural Payments Agency | — | Eligible |
- — Agreed and scheduled
- — Claimed, awaiting payment
- — Eligible, unclaimed
What the statuses mean
- Agreed
- Under a signed agreement with a scheduled payment date.
- Expected
- Claimed and assessed; payment date per the published standard.
- Eligible
- Your holding appears to qualify but nothing is claimed yet.
Questions answered
What people ask about Scheme Engine
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Scheme Engine is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Abrupt mid-window scheme closure. Mitigated by budget-fill gauges and early warning. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
Documents
Take it away with you
Everything here is printable and works on a kitchen table with no signal. Where a document asks for an email address, it says so on the button rather than after you press it.
Never Miss a Window: The Four-Nation Scheme Engine Handbook
The practical handbook for scheme engine: what the rules require, what the evidence has to show, and the mistakes that cost people money.
scheme engine — evidence checklist
Every document an audit or a claim asks for, in the order it is asked for, with the validity period of each.
scheme engine — record template
The record structure the module uses, as a spreadsheet, so a business not yet on the platform can start keeping it correctly today.
Data model reference
Entities, fields and integration points for scheme engine, for advisers and software partners.
See Scheme Engine running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours