Payments for vet visits will increase from January 2026
17th December 2025
DEFRA has just confirmed that payments for both the animal health and welfare review and endemic disease follow-up will increase from January 2026.
The increase, which will come into force on 22nd January 2026, reflects inflation and helps ensure farmers can continue to access high-quality support, while allowing vets enough time to provide a thorough and valuable service, the department explained.
Any eligible visit that takes place on or after this date will be paid at the higher rate.
On average, the payments will increase by 16% across the species covered in the offer.
How to access payments
If you are an existing agreement holder, you do not need to do anything now. In January, once the increased payment rates are in place, the RPA will write to you with a variation to your agreement’s terms and conditions to reflect the new funding levels, DEFRA said.
To receive funding, you must have at least 11 cattle, 21 sheep or 51 pigs. You must also apply for an Improve Animal Health and Welfare (IAHW) agreement.
A spokesperson for the department added that farmers need to make sure their agreement is approved and in place before they start any actions from the review or follow-up visit. Work carried out before the agreement begins will not be funded.
Farmers will need their Rural Payments service Customer Reference Number (CRN) and password to apply. The application usually takes around five minutes to complete.
What to expect from an animal health and welfare review
During the review, a vet of a farmer’s choice will assess health, welfare and farm conditions, including animal condition, housing, nutrition, water and handling.
The vet will:
- review disease risks and biosecurity, looking at how disease could enter or spread and how it is currently controlled
- carry out required disease testing by taking samples to check for specific endemic diseases, depending on your livestock type
- discuss medicine use and improvements, including reviewing antibiotics and medicines and agreeing on priority actions for improvement.
After the visit, farmers will receive:
- a written summary with clear recommendations
- a plan to manage disease and improve welfare
- a baseline to measure progress over time.
Endemic disease follow-up
The endemic disease follow-up is another optional, funded visit that builds on your animal health and welfare review. It focuses on controlling specific diseases that affect your animals, DEFRA said.
During the visit, the vet will:
- review disease issues and test results, look at any ongoing health problems and discuss what the results show
- assess current disease controls and check how well existing measures are working and where improvements could be made
- agree a practical disease plan which sets out clear actions to reduce disease risk and improve animal health.
After the visit, farmers will receive:
- a targeted disease control plan
- advice tailored to your system
- support to deliver long-term improvements.
DEFRA explained that this visit helps make sure the changes from the review are working and delivering real benefits.
Read more livestock news.
