The Environment Agency has produced guidance for farmers in the wake of one of the wettest summers in living memory. The EA advice aims to advise farmers on ways to respond to the adverse weather without risking polluting the environment.

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A guidance document, available from the EA here, offers suggestions for best practice in slurry spreading and management. The Agency said that good practice should revolve around spreading the amount of slurry crops need, when they need it and in the right conditions.

2012 brought the UK’s wettest spring on record and second wettest summer. Moving into Autumn, the weather has not improved, with areas of the UK receiving the average September rainfall in just 24 hours on 24th and 25th September. This has combined to hamper farmers’ efforts to recycle all their slurry in preparation for the onset of autumn.

Whilst EA acknowledged that “continuing poor weather in parts of the country is delaying harvests, which will in turn set back the timing of post-harvest slurry spreading,” the agency warned that “It remains an offence to spread slurry (and other manures with high available nitrogen) in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone during the closed period.”

However, following the latest spell of wet weather, Defra has announced that it has instructed the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to take into account the Environment Agency’s guidance for farmers with livestock. It allows the spreading of slurry as a last resort for farms during the first two weeks of the normal closed periods. Closed periods on slurry and manure spreading within NVZ would normally prevent spreading from 1st October on tillage land and 15th October for grassland.

The guidance stipulates that contingency plans must be in place to deal with excess slurry during this period, and the government is urging its members to use all other alternatives before spreading, as this will be taken into account by the RPA during inspections to decide if spreading was appropriate. Fines and other sanctions can be issued should farmers not comply with the guidance.

In its latest guidance, EA said that, in the case of a violation of NVZ restrictions, it would consider the local weather history, the way slurry has been applied, advice that has been made available and compliance with slurry rules in deciding whether to take enforcement action.

Nevertheless, the government’s leniency has been welcomed by farming unions. NFU head of policy services Andrew Clark said on Thursday (27th September), “This is a welcome but very delayed announcement given that the NFU first raised concerns with Defra and EA in mid-July. The announcement provides a pragmatic way forward that will allow farmers in greatest need and who have followed good practice, to spread slurry and manures before winter. We are pleased that Defra expects the Environment Agency to apply the NVZ rules flexibly and with discretion following what has been an exceptional summer’s weather.”

Defra’s statement clearly stipulates that farmers cannot spread slurry without risk of breaching cross compliance rules, but rather that evidence of good practice and having in place the statutory minimum of storage constraint should be taken into account by EA at inspection.

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