Welsh farmer frustration over water pollution review

A review into water pollution regulations in Wales has suggested there could be an end to “farming-by-calendar rules”, but questions remain over funding for infrastructure.

The statutory four-year review, led by Dr Susannah Bolton, examined how effective the rules are in reducing water pollution from agricultural sources, and found the current approach works.

See also: Welsh farmers struggle under crushing costs of NVZ rules

The review recommended that the whole of Wales remains a designed nitrate vulnerable zone though – an approach that opponents to the rules have been fiercely critical of before.

Burdensome paperwork, however, is set to be simplified, and the Welsh government hopes to address any regulatory gaps (including soil protection measures) through improvements to the nutrient management planning requirements.

An additional £10m is hoped to be allocated to the rural investment schemes in the final 2025-2026 Welsh government budget, to explore and potentially pilot alternative approaches to the closed periods.

This could see an end to controversial farming-by-calendar rules, though the storage period requirements would stay the same.  

Current concerns

Farming unions had previously condemned the regulations as overly burdensome and financially unviable.

They highlight that infrastructure costs alone would run at £360m (as indicated by the Welsh government’s own impact assessment).

Since the introduction of the regulations in 2021, £52m in financial support has been made available to help farmers with infrastructure costs, the Welsh government said.

Enforcement of the regulations by Natural Resources Wales has also been bolstered, with £1.58m committed for the 2025-26 financial year.

Going forward

The existing rules will stay in place while the 23 recommendations, which have been accepted in full by the Welsh government, are taken forward and developed with stakeholders.

Deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: “While the causes of pollution are not limited to any one sector, agriculture remains one of the main contributors.”

Mr Irranca-Davies added that they will aim to ensure that any new rules are fair and reasonable, “while still focusing on our main goal – to reduce pollution from farming activities”.

Industry reaction

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said the report was a welcome indication that the door for negotiation with the Welsh government remains open.

FUW president Ian Rickman said: “A commitment to explore alternative innovative solutions to the closed periods and nitrogen limits has to be welcomed, as does the hint towards a risk-based approach through lessening the burden for low-risk farmers and potential exemptions.”

However, the FUW maintains that the record-keeping and bureaucratic requirements of these regulations must be simplified for farmers.

NFU Cymru has voiced “frustration” over the review, which they say is a missed opportunity to deliver urgent changes to the control of agricultural pollution regulations.

NFU Cymru president Aled Jones said: “Farmers will be extremely annoyed that nothing has materially changed as a result of today’s announcement – the existing regulations remain in place – and farmers, already under very significant pressure, now face the very real threat of additional regulation in the future.”

He added farmers will have little confidence in recommendations to only “consider the possibility and explore alternative measures” for closed periods and the 170kg N/ha limit.

“The reality is that this work has already been undertaken and submitted to Welsh government in line with the legislative requirements two-and-a-half years ago,” explained Mr Jones.

“Today is when we should have seen changes being enacted.”