On 27th January 2021, the Minister for Environment, and Rural Affairs for wales, Lesley Griffiths, announced the introduction of the agricultural regulations. The regulations, known as the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, will apply from 1st April 2021. The rules aim to tackle river pollution by regulating how farmers use slurry and fertilisers on their land.
While environmental organizations and the fishing industry have welcomed the regulations, farmers’ unions have opposed the latest legal farm news as they must spend a lot of money to comply. For example, the Farming Union of Wales described the move as a “mockery of devolution”. They also said that new regulations were “draconian and unimaginative”. The government has promised financial assistance and guidance through the implementation phase and beyond, but the farmers find it inadequate.
While the minister admitted that some progress had been made over the last four years, she said the rules were introduced because the industry has not made enough effort to combat the issue. According to the minister, the rules are a “clear and consistent baseline” to ensure that all farmers in wales understand what is needed to protect the environment.
The Welsh government has discussed these new regulations for several years and plans to have them rolled out by 1st August 2024. Lesley Griffiths, the Environmental and Rural Affairs minister, had previously termed the number of pollution incidents in wales embarrassing. According to the government, there have been more than three pollution incidents per week in the past three years. The pollution has affected the quality of water in the whole of wales.
In summary, the regulations are all about the following areas:
- Farm nutrients’ management planning
- Fertiliser application according to the crop’s nutrient requirement
- Protecting water from pollution through regulating how, when and where to spread fertilisers
- Silage and manure storage standards
Implementation of new regulations
From 1st April 2021
Silage and manure storage
- Farmers must give a 14days notice to NRW before they start constructing new or improved silage or slurry storage
- Other than notifying NRW before work begins, rules for silage storage will be similar to SSAFO
Exempt structures
- Structures built before march 1991 and those where the parties had entered a construction contract before March and completed before September 1991.
- Farmers can continue using their old storage, but they must meet the storage capacity requirements by 1st August 2024.
Controlling the spread of fertilisers with nitrogen (includes manufactured fertilisers, organic manures and slurry)
- Farmers who intend to use nitrogen fertilisers must first assess the risk of nitrogen finding its way into the water
- Farmers should not spread nitrogen fertiliser if there is a risk of nitrogen getting into the water. Farmers can consider the slope of the field and the weather
- Farmers to have buffer zones as per the existing requirements
Manufactured nitrogen fertiliser spreading periods
- on tillage land, from 1st September to 15th January
- On the grassland, from 15th September to 15th January
You can check the complete guide for the exemptions that apply.
Organic manure incorporation
- Farmers wishing to apply organic manure to bare soil must incorporate it within 24 hours
Exemptions may apply in some circumstances, e.g. when one uses precision spreading equipment.
From 1st January 2023
Risk Maps
- Farmers intending to spread manure must have a risk map showing pollution-risk areas, including surface waters and buffer zones
- Farmers should also mark sites for field heaps if they intend to store their manure in field heaps
Organic manure storage
Apart from the slurry, farmers should store their organic manure as follows:
- In a vessel
- Inside a covered building
- In a temporary free-standing container in the field
- On an impermeable surface
Nutrient management planning
- Farmers must come up with a Nutrient Management Plan for the application of any nitrogen fertiliser. This includes the nitrogen supply in the soil and the nitrogen required by the crop
Import/export manure
- Any import/export of manure from and into the farm must be recorded.
Nutrient applications
- The fertiliser used must not exceed the specified crop limits
- Fertiliser applications must be as accurate as possible.
Records
- Farmers must keep records associated with fertiliser applications and Nutrient Management Plans.
- There will be exemptions from certain requirements for farmers in extensive farming.
Holding limit
- Farmers are only required to apply 250kg of organic manure per individual hectare for any 12 months rolling period.
- The maximum amount of nitrogen to be applied each year across the holding should not exceed 170kg, whether applied by spreading or directly deposited by animals.
From 1st August 2024
Close period
- Spreading of mature and slurry will not be allowed during the closed periods. Only 30 cubic metres per hectare will be allowed after the period.
- There must be three weeks in between spreadings.
Slurry storage capacity
- Any slurry produced by livestock, except pigs and poultry, must be stored for 5 months.
- Pigs and poultry slurry must be stored for 6 months.
