New Wales task and finish group to address agri-pollution

The Welsh government is establishing a new task and finish group to support the tackling of agricultural pollution and implement the recommendations from the review of the Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations (CoAP Regulations).

Farmers in Wales have been dealing with the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations since 2021.

See also: NVZ review: Welsh farmer frustration continues with rules

It declared the entire country a nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) and caused many businesses to struggle with compliance.

The NVZ was gradually introduced over three years.

However, farmers have been vocal in their objections to the rules and hoped for significant changes following the four-yearly review led by Dr Susannah Bolton, published on 31 March.

In a written statement, Wales’ deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies said that implementing the review recommendations was crucial but needed collaboration.

“Due to the complex and technical nature of the recommendations and the importance of a collaborative approach, I will be using the experience gained from the SFS stakeholder engagement process to inform the way forward,” he said.

The Welsh government is expected to issue a call for expressions of interest shortly.

‘Unworkable’ regulatory burden

NFU Cymru said that for many farmers, the onerous regulatory burden is intolerable, and it awaits further information on the “collaborative approach” and proposed task and finish group “with interest”.

“The prolonged dry weather of 2025 has resulted in many farmers needing to take late cuts of silage for their livestock for the forthcoming winter, and they were unable to empty their slurry stores before the start of the closed period on 15 October,” said NFU Cymru president Aled Jones.

“We will continue to highlight to the Welsh government the damaging impacts imposed by the current regulatory approach and the need for a full independent review of the cumulative burden of regulations on Welsh farming families,” he added.

‘Grasp the nettle’

Plaid Cymru’s rural affairs spokesperson, Llyr Gruffydd MS, urged the task and finish group to “grasp the nettle” and bring forward changes that offer a more workable approach and deliver the needed results.

“The group needs a strong representation from the farming industry amongst its membership to ensure its proposals are pragmatic and workable on the ground,” he said.