Farm rules necessary but need to be based on good evidence
EVERY society needs rules; rules create the framework for a society to operate. Without rules it becomes a free-for-all.
Industry in particular needs rules, especially to cover the health and safety of employees and of the people who use the products or services produced. There is also the need for environmental regulation. This became apparent with the Industrial Revolution when waste was dumped into rivers, released into the air and mounded into spoil heaps.
Agriculture is not immune from the need for regulation particularly as it probably covers a larger area of the country than any other industry.
Agriculture is a great force for good and delivers so much for society and the environment, but with that comes the risk of doing harm. Pollution is one of those risks and can be ‘point source’ or ‘diffuse’.
Point source is where the source is obvious, such as a dirty yard washing into a stream. Diffuse cannot be identified so easily but is usually where nutrients or soil particles seep from the land into water courses.
The use of manufactured fertilisers has dropped dramatically over the last 20 years. A large part of that has come about through the more efficient use of livestock manures. The use of manures is the ultimate in recycling. Once applied to the land, nature, principally worms, incorporates the manure into the soil.
Manures bring big benefits to soils; not just nutrients to feed the crops but they are also the best way to increase soil organic matter.
Organic matter is one of the most important elements of soil. It brings structure and allows soils to be workable. Rather like the compost in a hanging basket, it both holds moisture for the plants but allows excess water to drain through.
Organic matter has declined in some soils that are used continually for arable crops. There are fewer mixed farms – those that have livestock and grow crops – especially in
the east and south of England than there were 50 years ago.
When there are alarming headlines about soil quality, they are usual referring to ithese continually cropped soils.
Given that only one third of the UK land is used for arable and only some of those soils are declining in quality, it does put the problem into perspective. Nevertheless, it needs addressing.
One of the ways is linking those arable farms with livestock farms, often known as ‘muck for straw.’
The arable farm receives manure from the livestock farm in return for providing straw for bedding to the livestock farm.
That bedding straw absorbs the manure and urine from the livestock so creating the manure to spread on the land. The use of manures is just as important on grassland farms allowing some farms to use very little if any bought in fertilisers.
This brings me back to rules and regulations.
A government body, the Environment Agency has recently updated some guidance called Farming Rules for Water.
FRW has been around for several years and consists of eight rules which aim to minimise diffuse pollution. It is the interpretation of rule one which has caused concern and the industry has been seeking answers.
These came with no industry consultation and basically make autumn and winter applications of manures, including digestate from the sewage industry, no longer allowed.
Pushing all applications to the spring could actually cause greater loss of phosphates and ammonia.
There is now a big outcry from both the farming and water industry for rule one to be suspended to allow a full consultation and a practical solution to be found.
Rules are necessary but they have to be practical and based on good evidence.