Rules aimed at tackling river pollution in England could see arable farmers barred from spreading livestock manures and digestate this autumn, as the Environment Agency (EA) is changing the way it applies the legislation.

Under Rule 1 of the Farming Rules for Water, farmers must justify why they need to apply organic manures in the autumn.

But as most autumn-drilled crops don’t have a nitrogen requirement for the autumn and winter, or for phosphate if soil indices are high, this could effectively mean a ban on applications.

See also: Farming rules for water – what’s in store?

Grassland and oilseed rape do have a requirement for these nutrients, but farmers still need to produce a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) to demonstrate that requirement.

A recently-published Adas study, commissioned by AHDB, suggests the biggest impact will be felt in the east of England where most pig and poultry manures are applied ahead of autumn cropping.

Scrutiny

The Farming Rules for Water apply to all holdings and have been in place since 2018.

But the EA has come under scrutiny for the way it has interpreted the regulations and is now taking a more proactive approach, with additional funding for enforcing this.

Farmers who have come under scrutiny for autumn spreading have already received letters advising them that they must justify those applications, either through a NMP, by working with a qualified Facts adviser, or by taking mitigating actions.

Information

Penalties are unlikely to come into force immediately, however. Instead, the EA is set to publish a statement on 2 August that will provide more information on the management of organic materials this autumn and is expected to offer farmers a one-year grace period, to allow them time to adjust to the rules.

Although the industry accepts that protecting water quality is non-negotiable, moving applications from autumn to spring poses “several practical and logistical challenges”, the Adas report suggests.

“For solid manures this is likely to result in an increase in the number of temporary field heaps and the time that the manure is stored in field,” it states.

“For slurries this will require an increase in the storage capacity of slurry tanks or lagoons.”

Balance

Modelling by Adas showed that the EA’s interpretation of Rule 1 would reduce nitrate leaching losses by about 60%, resulting in a 1.5% decrease in the total loss from agriculture, but would increase ammonia emissions by about 10% – representing a 2% increase in total emissions from agriculture.

Phosphate loss would increase too, by about 30% – representing a 5% increase in the total loss from agriculture.

Susan Twining, chief land use adviser at the CLA, said there was a case to be made for balancing the environmental priorities of building soil health while improving water quality.

“This will require reliable information and guidance to assess risks to water, and support from government to upgrade farm slurry and manure storage,” she said.