The survey of over 400 farmers revealed many Welsh farming businesses were faced with spending thousands of pounds in order to comply with the regulations.
Of the 65% of Welsh farmers who had either already invested in infrastructure, or who were planning to imminently, the estimated mean cost of investment is approximately £100,000, with 12% stating the cost was over £200,000. Of those 146 farmers who had already invested in infrastructure to adhere to the regulations, less than 40% had received grant support towards the costs, citing the poor design of the investment schemes and the complexity of the grant application process. Farmers also cited they simply cannot afford, even with grant support, the costs based on the profitability of their businesses.
Further costs
Farmers were subject to further costs when it comes to the planning and administrative processes associated with erecting new infrastructure to become compliant. Almost half (47%) of farmers said they had required planning permission to reach compliance. The estimated mean cost of spending on planning was found to be around £5,800, with 6% of respondents saying that had spent over £20,000.
84% of respondents indicated that the rules relating to risk maps and recording keeping were having a very negative or fairly negative impact on their business. In fact, only a quarter of farmers said they had not required any support from an adviser or consultant – often at further cost to the business - to assist with the record keeping elements. It is clear that this aspect of the regulations is causing a high level of anxiety amongst farming families.
Negative impact
84% of respondents identified that the closed periods for the spreading of organic manures with high readily available nitrogen and manufactured fertilisers were having a negative impact on their businesses.
69% of dairy farms who participated in the survey reported being impacted by the 170 kg/N/ha from livestock manures, with around a half of those impacted indicating that they had reduced livestock numbers to reach compliance, sadly 5% had ceased production in a farming sector, 3% had given up farming altogether.
Evidence Submission
The outcomes from the survey have informed an NFU Cymru Evidence Submission which was presented to Dr Susannah Bolton, the independent external chair overseeing the statutory review of the Control of Agricultural Pollution Regulations, during a NFU Cymru arranged on-farm meeting with the water quality review group and representatives of the agri-food supply chain on Wednesday 18th December. The report features a series of recommendations and key asks put forward by members of the NFU Cymru Water Quality Review Group to amend the legislation so that it is practical and achievable on all Welsh farms.
Speaking after the meeting, NFU Cymru Water Quality Review Group Chairman Martin Griffiths said: “The results of our survey show that Welsh farmers are experiencing a range of negative impacts of the regulations, which is leading to significant changes to farming systems with knock-on impacts to farm business viability and farmer wellbeing. These regulations cover the whole of Wales, irrespective of water quality in nearby catchments. The introduction of inflexible closed periods for spreading nutrients, meanwhile, has dictated a ‘farming-by-calendar’ approach to agriculture in Wales that simply does not work, particularly given the ever-changing climate we’re now experiencing. All of this regulatory burden requires a level of investment being imposed on businesses in order to become compliant which, in some cases, is in excess of £100,000.
Evidence-based approach needed
“We believe Welsh Government should adopt an evidenced-based approach and the regulations, together with appropriate resources to support compliance and on the ground action, should be targeted to those areas where improvements to water quality have been shown to be needed.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to present our evidence to Dr Bolton and we would welcome the opportunity to work with Welsh Government to resolve the issues identified within the current regulatory approach. An approach that delivers the outcomes we all want to see, the continued delivery of affordable food for all in society, viable farming businesses, thriving rural communities alongside improvements in water quality where these have shown to be needed.”