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Know How / Air and water

As part of the transition to a more sustainable future, improving air and water quality is fundamental. New regulations will come into force to reduce ammonia emissions and fertiliser use in the agricultural sector. We look at low-emission farming techniques which can help you become less reliant on inputs that are harmful to the environment.

BIODIVERSITY

Lottery grant to help northern farmers realise natural capital

A group supporting farmers in the north of England to capture income from natural capital markets has secured £100,000 to fund catchment-scale conservation work. Wensleydale & Swaledale Environmental Farmers (Swef)…

AIR AND WATER

Water companies offer premiums to Wildfarmed wheat growers

Four water companies in England are to pay regenerative wheat growers up to £200/ha, in some cases more, if they don’t use pesticides and adopt practices shown to reduce soil…

AIR AND WATER

Keep methane inhibitors in the toolbox, says Lords report

Adding methane inhibitors to ruminant rations has “significant potential” for mitigating emissions of this gas from agriculture and should be monitored closely, says a new House of Lords report published…

AIR AND WATER

Defra launches 'snap review' of autumn muckspreading

Alarm bells are ringing about the future of spreading organic manures in the autumn in England, after Defra launched a snap review of the statutory guidance used by the Environment…

AIR AND WATER

Somerset farmers demand EA action to prevent flooding

Farmers in Somerset are urging the Environment Agency (EA) to intensify efforts to prevent flooding on the Somerset Levels, especially as climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme…

ARABLE

Wetter farming: Growing typha for the construction industry

Field trials at the Horsey Estate in the Broads National Park are under way as part of a project investigating the growing of wetland crops to be used in the…

AIR AND WATER

Flood-hit farmer hits out at EA 'incompetence'

Lincolnshire arable farmer Henry Ward has accused the Environment Agency of incompetence after it failed to repair several breaches of riverbanks following last year’s flooding. Mr Ward’s 80ha farm at…

ENVIRONMENT

How industry is baselining emissions on farm

Baselining, the latest environmental buzzword, looks at emissions and carbon stores on individual farms, providing an initial marker against which progress can be measured. At a larger scale, across hundreds…

ENVIRONMENT

Flood-hit farmers call for rivers authority to be reinstated

Flood-hit farmers are calling on the government to bring back the National Rivers Authority to maintain Britain’s waterways and drainage systems, as large swathes of farmland lie flooded again. Following…

AIR AND WATER

800 Welsh farmers rush to secure slurry grants

More than 800 farm businesses in Wales have applied for their share of more than £20m of government funding to help improve slurry storage infrastructure on farms to comply with…

AIR AND WATER

Welsh farmer fined for silt pollution incident

A farmer who polluted a two-mile stretch of a South Wales watercourse with silt during flood alleviation work has been fined by magistrates. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) was alerted to…

POULTRY

Lawyers seek compensation for pollution in Wye catchment

Law firm Leigh Day has started the first stage of planned legal action against chicken producer Avara Foods, seeking millions of pounds in compensation for businesses in the River Wye…