Farm491 Challenge 2025 – supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

We are delighted to announce the launch of our second Farm491 Challenge, a competition series aimed to encourage and support companies fostering innovation in our natural world.

Generously supported by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, this three-year series enables companies, which are developing innovative ways to solve challenges in the natural world, to invest in their business and develop their product.

Event graphic for Farm491 Challenge 2025

The Challenge

For the second year of the Farm491 Challenge Prize series, the challenge is ‘Mixed Land Use’.

Land is under unprecedented pressure in the UK and globally, to make space for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, food and energy production, and housing. One of the solutions to these issues is to stack land uses by finding synergies that mitigate this resource competition. We are looking for companies developing innovative products and services that support nature friendly, multifunctional land use. 

These could include (but are not limited to) products and services that enable:

  • Agroforestry
  • Regenerative and productive housing development
  • Intercropping food and non-food crops
  • Co-producing food and renewables

Scroll down to explore the Challenge Journey, including key dates and details on how to submit your application.