05 Sep 2024
The campaign group Fighting Dirty has lost its case against the Environment Agency at the High Court today (August 21), on the crucial issue of spreading toxic sewage sludge on farmland. The judge ruled that the Environment Agency was not obliged to change its policy when the former Conservative Secretary of State for Environment failed to act. […]
14 May 2024
Investigation in The Guardian The National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the UK’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed. Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby group, met […]
24 Apr 2024
Investigation by The Guardian The majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers. When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of […]
24 Apr 2024
Groups of farmers will be offered support to work together to store water and protect against the impact of drought through a new fund launched by the government today (Monday 22 April). The £1.6 million fund will be used by farmers to investigate different methods to manage water in their area. Projects could include multi-farm […]
17 Apr 2024
From The Guardian Farmers who have their entire cropping land submerged underwater have found they are ineligible for a government flooding hardship fund – because their farms are too far from a major river. According to the Met Office, 1,695.9mm of rain fell from October 2022 to March 2024, the highest amount for any 18-month […]
28 Feb 2024
Last week, Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency delivered a speech at the 2024 NFU Conference. He talks about flooding, dredging, pollution, water resources, funding and more. Also covered by Sky News Environment watchdog chair tells farmers to ‘do better’ on river pollution Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell acknowledged the numerous “financial pressures” on […]
21 Feb 2024
The Environment Agency has launched a campaign to highlight the risks of growing high-risk crops, which can lead to pollution and flooding, in the South West of England Parts of Cornwall and north and east Devon are considered at risk due to underlying soil types, slope and proximity to sensitive watercourses, roads and properties. Inadequate […]
30 Jan 2024
The Guardian reports that eighty-three per cent of English rivers contain evidence of high pollution caused by sewage and agricultural waste, according to the largest citizen science water testing project ever to take place in the UK. Hundreds of anglers took part in the study, organised by the Angling Trust, after being angered by the […]
