Speaking with presenter Seth Conway and Mole Valley Farmers' Lisa Hambly, Stephen Webster from the EA explained how 86% of rivers in England currently fail the threshold for good ecological status.  

The EA investigates all failures to attain a 'reason (s) for not achieving a good status' (RNAGS). A failure can have multiple reasons for not achieving good status, leading often to many RNAGS for a given failure.  

In the last cycle of data in 2019, there were a total of 14,846 RNAGS for England's rivers of which agriculture accounted for 29.9% of these and water companies 26.8%. 

In the same period, in Devon and Cornwall, 51% of water bodies were affected by agriculture. 

Although severe pollution incidents have come down considerably since the 1990s, which Mr Webster praised farmers for, many rivers are still failing in part due to agriculture practices, explained the EA's Mr Webster. 

"56% of agriculture RNAGS nationally are due to phosphate. Fine sediment also accounts for 11% of RNAGS," he added. 

"A lot of problems have been due to soil erosion events, which have happened because of poor soil structure. If the soil structure is in bad nick, then it's going to cause problems. 

"It's important for farmers to understand how they can mitigate against these soil erosion events. If you have good soil structure, these problems largely go away. It really is the be-all and end-all," he stressed. 

Mr Webster said many of the soil runoff incidents are a result of compaction at depth. "All that happens is the top 20-30cm fills up, and then you get runoff." 

However, there are soils that will see natural over land flow (over impermeable bedrock or clay). The mitigation methods for preventing soil erosion on these soils are different to freely draining soils. Therefore, understanding your soil is vital. 

Under the Farming Rules for Water regulations which are outcome based and not prescriptive, the soil erosion aspect depends on many variables, such as soil type, slope, geography, land use, weather etc. This means issues and incidents are treated on a case-by-case basis, explained Mr Webster.  

He said the level of the enforcement (advice-led) would match the severity of the incident, with a range of factors including crop suitability, level of compaction, mitigation methods utilised as well as any previous dealings with the EA considered. 

Mr Webster advised listeners to work with the Environment Agency and the wider industry, such as Mole Valley Farmers, to understand how they could mitigate against such pollution events. 

"We want to work together with farmers, but we are also the regulators, so we can give only so much advice before going down the enforcement route." 

Maize was discussed during the podcast as a crop that gets bad press for causing soil erosion. However, when appropriate steps are taken to mitigate the risks, it can be grown with success. 

Mr Webster added:" Maize is a cracking crop, and I would love to keep it as part of farmers cropping rotation, but the management and post-harvest management of maize is important. 

"Farmers must understand not all land can be harvested in mid-late October. Therefore, understanding the land's capability and the risks associated with their land, and match the correct maize variety or other crops to the land's capabilities." 

Ms Hambly encouraged listeners to understand each of their fields and plan the cropping appropriately. 

"Check your own backyards and fields and ask yourself if there's something you could be doing better. A nutrient management plan will help you focus on cropping and understand the best places to crop and where and when to spread muck, enabling you to plan ahead of time. It not only helps you become more profitable; it will also help better yields." 

Ms Hambly urged listeners to work with companies like themselves on a Nutrient Management Plan. 

"Mole Valley Farmers can conduct Nutrient Management Plans and advise on appropriate cropping plans most suitable for your land. " 

Ms Hambly also offered suitable options for mitigating runoff risks when growing maize. They included: 

• Having good soil structure – which may include post-harvest cultivations  
• Undersowing with grass 
• Choosing an earlier maturing variety for an earlier harvest 
• Growing a cover crop after maize to reduce bare soil.   

For listeners in Devon, the EA is running an event on 23rd March at Merton Village Hall in Devon, where data on water quality for the region will be presented along with soil advice from EA specialist Dr Richard Smith.  

There will also be advice on selecting the right maize variety from the Maize Growers Association's John Morgan, with the day concluding with a session on SFI. 

To book a space at this event, please email stephen.webster@environment-agency.gov.uk 

To listen to the full podcast, go to https://rss.com/podcasts/mvf/