Farmers urged to prepare for Environment Agency inspections

Farmers are being left “unprepared and uncompliant” for Environment Agency (EA) inspections, according to Carlisle-based auctioneer and land agency firm H&H Land & Estates.

Thousands of on-farm inspections have been carried out in the past year in England with thousands more planned, following an influx of additional EA inspectors.

H&H Land & Estates reported that, while there are no punitive measures in most cases for modest non-compliance, many farm businesses are left with a number of actions that need to be taken at the businesses’ expense.

See also: Farmers pushed to leave sector after costly EA inspections

Advisers at the firm have been working with farmers across Yorkshire and the North of England on issues related to the inspections, guiding them on best practice when planning for them.

Hannah Peile, farm business adviser at H&H Land & Estates, said: “The EA is responding to the growing pollution of rivers and watercourses, and its agricultural inspections are monitoring our farmers’ compliance with environmental regulations controlling potential pollution from slurry and silage, or from nitrates and phosphates in the soil.”

Ms Peile added: “The EA is taking what it describes as an ‘advice-led’ approach, but it is far less stressful and time-consuming to be prepared for an inspection than having to play catch-up.”

The firm has advised farmers to create soil and nutrient management plans, as these will be useful in the event of an inspection and can also be helpful in applications for support scheme funding.

Likewise, the implementation of slurry management plans and regular soil testing can help businesses to stay compliant, and grant funding may be available to help support these activities.

Ms Peile is working with a farm business where the silage clamp was found to be uncompliant.

She said: “The EA inspection report in this case specified actions that needed to be taken within a given deadline, and full details of the plans required to bring the clamp up to compliance standard.

“This includes site and structural drawings and design drawings to BS5502 [agricultural building regulations], materials specification and installers certification if underground tanks are to be used.

“If the structure is constructed from earth, the necessary actions will include an analysis of the soil type, depth and permeability, and a description of how it will be engineered.”