Water management
couraged to incorporate organic fertilisers into the soil within 12 hours of spreading to signifi cantly reduce ammonia pollution. The fertiliser rules require farmers to test soils, then plan and apply their fertiliser or manure to improve soil nutrient levels and meet crop needs. They include minimum storage and spread- ing distances from water bodies.
“ The new rules aim to protect soil as well as water
New water rules come into effect this spring
• Promote good fertiliser practice • Prevent fi eld runoff or soil erosion • Require soil tests every fi ve years
good practice and offering a new approach to regulation come into effect across England from 2 April.
N
In essence, the rules require farmers to keep soil on the land, match nutrients to crop, and soil needs, and keep livestock fertil- isers and manures out of water courses.
Defra minister Thérèse Cof-
fey said: “These new rules are a win-win for farmers and the en- vironment. It says they will help improve water quality, set a level playing fi eld for all farmers, help businesses save money from bet- ter resource effi ciency and im- prove their resilience. “Our ambition is to be the fi rst generation to leave the environ- ment in a better state than we found it. The new rules will also help deliver our plans for a Green
ew rules for farmers to help protect water qual- ity by standardising
Brexit along with a better future for farming business.”
Many farmers abide by the new rules already. The government suggests a light touch approach means farmers and land man- agers will be able to determine what approach is best for their land, through methods such as
deciding when it is safe to spread fertilisers.
Good progress
Dr Coffey said the farming rules for water were drawn up with farming and environment stake- holders to recognise and build on the good progress made by a great many farmers in trying to tackle pollution. There are eight rules – fi ve about managing fertilisers and manures and three on managing soils. In addition, farmers are en-
These new rules are a win-win for farmers and the environment
Protecting soils Farmer will also be required to as- sess weather and soil conditions to reduce the risk of runoff and soil erosion. The remaining rules re- quire farmers to manage livestock by protecting land within fi ve me- tres of water and reducing live- stock poaching. Farming rules for water are part of a whole package of meas- ures to help farmers and land managers look after the environ- ment. As well as farm businesses, Defra says clean water will help tourism, fi shing and shellfi sh busi- nesses, reduce the cost of treat- ment and protect biodiversity. The government is also invest- ing £400m through Countryside Stewardship which supports farmers in creating or restoring precious habitats and a £12m farm ammonia reduction grant has incentivised farmers to tack- le agricultural emissions.
Waste water hike ‘threatens welfare standards’
A proposed fi ve-fold increase in licence fees to dispose of waste water after dipping sheep is a potential threat to animal wel- fare standards, says the Nation- al Sheep Association (NSA). The planned increase in the cost of applications and renew- als processed by the Environ- ment Agency after April 2018 would take a new licence to more than £2,000, says the NSA, which has described the hike
as “disproportionately large”. Farmers must hold a Certif- icate of Competence to use the organophosphate dips to kill certain sheep parasites, par- ticularly scab mites. They must also hold an Environment Agen- cy Disposal Licence to handle the waste water afterwards. NSA chief executive Phil
Stocker said: “Making sheep dipping prohibitively expensive would massively affect the sheep
sector, particularly now when we have serious problems and risks being experienced with any al- ternative treatments for sheep scab.” The only alternative treat- ment – macrocyclic lactone injec- tions that kill the external scab mite as well as internal sheep worms – was diffi cult to admin- ister at a time appropriate in the lifecycle of both types of parasite, said Mr Stocker.
MARCH 2018 • ANGLIA FARMER 25
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