As the closed period for spreading slurry on most Welsh farms kicks in (15 October), Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, has announced plans to make short-term amendments to the Cross Compliance Verifiable Standards related to the Control of Agricultural Pollution 'NVZ' regulations.

Speaking in response to the announcement, FUW President Ian Rickman said: "Over recent months, we have made it abundantly clear to the Cabinet Secretary that challenges were clearly on the horizon for Welsh farmers who cannot comply with these regulations due to matters outside of their control, and many now find themselves in this impossible situation. At the time, we requested an urgent update on this matter and for exemptions to be clearly outlined within the Cross Compliance documentation.

"The FUW therefore welcomes the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary as it offers a lifeline for the 800 or so farming businesses that have applied for infrastructure grant support, and the plethora of others that continue to face other challenges, such as delays in planning applications and the availability of building contractors."

The statement says: 'if any farmers are concerned they will not have the required capacity to safely store their slurry during the closed period and have taken all available actions to prevent the need to spread when it is inappropriate to do so, including during the closed periods, they should contact NRW to identify appropriate mitigating actions to minimise the risk of pollution...'

The Welsh Government intends to publish revised Cross Compliance Verifiable Standards by the end of the month. This will include more proportionate penalties where full assessments of records can be made and where technical non-compliances do not present a pollution risk, and penalties will be reduced for those who have undertaken reasonable steps to meet the new storage requirements but which are not currently compliant up until 1 August 2025.

"We have heard of many farmers receiving penalties over recent months due to errors within an overly-complex spreadsheet that do not necessarily present a pollution risk in the real world. We therefore welcome the fact that breaches applied since 2021 will be reviewed based on the amended standards.

"This announcement will certainly ease the stress and mental health pressure on a number of Welsh farmers over the coming months, and the Union is committed to working with both the Welsh Government and Dr Susannah Bolton on reviewing these regulations for the greater good of the industry and the quality of our waters in Wales", concluded Ian Rickman.