Following the publication of the Senedd Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee report on the Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) (Wales) Regulations 2021, the Welsh Government is expected to respond by 14th September followed by a debate scheduled in the Plenary on 21st September 2022.
In response to its publication on 8th June 2022, the FUW fully welcomed the report and called for it to receive the attention and respect it deserves and for all of the recommendations to be implemented in full.
For example, Recommendation 1 which states that “the Welsh Government should re-introduce the derogation which allowed qualifying grassland farmers to spread up to 250 kg per ha of nitrogen” which was omitted from the regulations before being laid in front of the previous Senedd in 2021 without any form of warning or explanation.
Given that the 170kg per ha of nitrogen limit would place a particularly reserved stocking rate of approximately 1.5 dairy cows per ha, the decision by the Welsh Government to remove the option of applying for such a derogation will massively restrict the ability of Welsh farmers to maintain milk and beef production levels from 1st January 2023, while further eroding the ability of Wales’ farmers to compete on a level playing field with the rest of the UK.
Re-introducing this derogation would serve as a significant safety net for a number of farmers in Wales who are already above the 170kg per ha of nitrogen limit where reducing stock numbers or buying or renting additional land are not viable options, and compliance with the 170kg limit will breach contracts or tenancy agreements, or compromise the ability to repay loans.
In addition, Recommendation 8 states that “the Welsh Government should prioritise any suitable alternative measures that utilise technology rather than closed periods for spreading, or ‘farming by calendar’.”
The FUW strongly believes that the Welsh Government must, at the earliest opportunity, consider and implement alternative measures which utilise technologies to allow for a shift away from prescribed storage requirements and fixed closed periods for slurry spreading.
Such moves would make the regulations more flexible and effective, reflecting the many different farming systems adopted in Wales and avoiding the need for hundreds of millions of pounds of capital investment.
The Welsh Government’s Regulatory Impact Assessment states that the regulations in their current form will cost Welsh farmers as much as £360 million in infrastructure costs alone – with annual compliance costs in addition to this figure.
With current inflation rates at 25% for construction materials, this equates to a potential cost of £450 million for Welsh farmers, £120 million more than Wales’ average annual Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget over the 2014-2020 CAP funding period.
Nevertheless, those who are willing and able to invest to become compliant with the regulations are facing barriers outside of their control with delays in planning applications, shortages of building supplies and the availability of builders to complete such works before 1st August 2024.
As such, and in light of the impacts of the war in Ukraine on global food security, supply chains and input costs, the Welsh Government should - at the very least - suspend the regulations to allow farmers to maximise the use of natural fertilisers and provide sufficient time for the Welsh Government to consider and make amendments to the regulations.