Environment Agency Q&A - Agricultural Regulations

[Environment Agency]

Welcome to the Environment Agency Q&A event on The Farming Forum.

For the next two days, this thread will be open for questions for our team at the Environment Agency to answer farmers questions on agricultural regulations.

The Environment Agency are aiming to engage with the community on the forum and provide a platform for farmers to ask questions, clarify the practical application of regulations and share their experiences.

Questions can cover the following topics:

• Farm inspections – preparing and outcomes
• Farming Rules for Water
• Storage of Silage, Slurry and Fuel Oil regs
• Nitrate Vulnerable Zone regulation
• Where we’re targeting inspections and why
• What we expect farmers to be doing in terms of compliance

As the focus is on environmental regulations, our team at the Environment Agency won’t be fielding questions on flooding or Environment Land Management schemes on this thread.

Questions with a straightforward answer will be responded to on the forum as quickly as possible, anything requiring a more detailed response will be taken away, with an answer provided within a week.

Please be respectful – abusive or offensive posts or language will be removed. Our team will be available to answer questions from the 27th February.

 

[Chris F]

As per the AHDB and Defra Q and As - we will be running with the same rules.

I'd like to thank the @Enviroment Agency for choosing to speak directly with farmers as Defra and AHDB have recently. It's a positive trend that they want to hear from farmers themselves.

This thread is only for questions, all commentary will be deleted. Please read all the questions and use the upvote or downvote buttons to indicate which questions you agree with as opposed to asking the same question twice.

The thread is open for questions now and the Agricultural Regulations team will be answering questions from 27th Feb.

 

[Bald Rick]

As EA (or in Wales the NRW) have the power to shut a farm operation down, at what point would you consider this necessary?

 

[Fergieman]

How come the water companies are allowed to pump sewage into water courses?

 

[Jerry]

Upon completion of an EA inspection, where no fault was found, why do I have to pay a fee?

Can the inspector dictate field cropping? He certainly thought he could telling me not to grow maize ever again in certain fields and not to do autumn reseeds.

 

[serf]

Why don't you just let farmers clear the ditches and waterways that cross their land like has happened for generations before EA got involved?

 

[steveR]

To follow on from @spin cycle question.

Why won't the EA push back against some of the guidance that prevents Landowners from carrying out maintenance on watercourses and minor rivers, possibly in cooperation with local IDB's?

If there is a preference for the IDB's to carry out the work with the IDB's approved Contractors, and if do, will the EA fun/part fund this

Sorry, just realised, this topic is Verboten......

 

[Welderloon]

1) Are Reed beds seen as an acceptable method to filter run off.
2) Is there any likelihood in the very near future that an upgraded fit for purpose organisation will be created that actually understands the requirement of the whole country regarding the very diverse subject that is the U.K. Environment rather than a Cabal of ecologists working to an agenda or will we, your pay masters, have to lobby this during the election run up.

 

[jimmer]

Why is a clay lined slurry lagoon perfectly acceptable and yet an earth/clay banked silage pit isn't?

 

[Martyn]

Why do spring calving milking herds that are only in sheds for 8-10 weeks require 6 months of slurry storage, especially when 4 weeks of that time they are dry cows & no parlour running?

 

[How Dairy]

Why does slurry separation not count towards 6 month of storage as you can store the solid fraction on fresh ground away from watercourses? It used to but the goalposts seemed to have shifted

 

[GeorgeK]

Given ongoing events at the Post Office which I don't need to elaborate on, is it time all government agency prosecutions include the right to appeal by means of an independent regulator?

 

[4R Man]

All the flood barrier schemes for towns/ villages consist of artificially increasing the height of the river bank to accommodate more water volume. Does it not make more sense to increase the volume of water the river the river can hold by improving the flow/ dredging the silted up areas? During a flood most of the wildlife which live in/on the river bank are killed so improving the flow will safeguard their habitat.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Just found a culvert filled with stone by children & the water has made its own way across my field. What should I do.

 

[farmbrew]

So, Who are you inspecting? and Why?
Are you targeting all regions?
Is it based on farm size, or when a particular problem shows up?
What do you expect of us?
Are you coming in with a heavy hand or are you inspecting with helpful attitude that will encourage any improvements required?
EA don't seem to have a good reputation from a farmers point of view, how can you improve this?

 

[serf]

Do you think the EA are doing a better job on flood prevention than the NRA done when they were in control of the waterways

 

[nelly55]

Under the farming rules for water and drainage what responsibility do you accept for field runoff by caused by flooding and poor maintenance on rivers.

 

[Flatland guy]

Which database do you get the details from to inspect some land/buildings/ businesses?

 

[Flatland guy]

In the first instance of an inspection who do you contact: owner of property(via public land registry details), tenant/occupier or grazer/cropping licence?

 

[Flatland guy]

Is the inspection recorded either via video or voice recorder to ensure an accurate record of what was said at the inspection?

If yes will the person/business being inspected allowed a copy of it?