20 Aug 2026
Photo by Johnny Such on Unsplash The UK government announced a £65mn funding package on Friday (14 August), to improve water access and drought resilience for struggling farmers. The measures announced include up to £15 million for on-farm reservoirs and plans to make it easier to develop new water storage infrastructure. Using the “C” word […]
05 Aug 2026
Photo credit: Darla Hueske Britain could face food shortages if the drought continues, farming leaders have warned, after the Met Office confirmed the driest July on record and the earliest harvest since data began. England saw just 6.5mm of rain last month, 10 per cent of the long-term average and less than half the […]
30 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel As drought spreads across half of England, the National Farmers’ Union has called for changes to abstraction rules and planning to protect food production. Low river flows have driven 1,506 restrictions on abstraction licences, and high irrigation demand is rapidly depleting farm reservoirs, leaving the union warning that growers […]
28 May 2026
Image description: John Deere tractor towing a slurry tanker. Photo by Mirko Fabian on Unsplash Years of river protection effort under review The Welsh government has signalled it will unwind the ban on spreading muck between mid-October and January, a rule introduced specifically to prevent slurry being washed into rivers during winter rainfall. Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience […]
30 Apr 2026
Image description: White sheep on green pastures near a lake, taken in Loughross, County Donegal, Ireland. Photo by Brian Kelly on Unsplash Regulations falling short despite farmer efforts Despite positive investment and efforts from farmers, key regulations designed to reduce agricultural pollution have failed to deliver meaningful improvements to water quality in Northern Ireland, […]
29 Jan 2026
Image description: ancient Clapper bridge over the river Avon in Dartmoor national park. Image by Ben Wrigley on Unsplash New, clearer rules proposed on Tuesday 27 January will help to improve water quality, reduce pollution in our rivers and give farmers the confidence to grow food sustainably, the UK Government says. 41% of England’s rivers, lakes and streams […]
18 Dec 2025
Image description: Aerial view of a green combine harvester harvesting a field. Image by Scott Goodwill on Unsplash The government is facing growing calls to overhaul the laws governing the spreading of treated sewage sludge on agricultural land, following new evidence of widespread public concern regarding food safety and river health. On Tuesday, campaigners […]
14 Aug 2025
Image description: Aerial view of two tractors driving toward each other along parallel lines. Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash After legal pressure from campaign group River Action, the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs has closed what they claim was “a major loophole”; manure can now only be spread when crops actually […]
