CLA Cymru Wye summit discusses the details of river health

The summit emphasised how farming businesses and river health are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Llyr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, opened the summit by highlighting the interdependence between rivers and farming. Rivers rely on profitable farming to manage land appropriately, whilst famers rely on healthy soils and rivers to produce food. The summit discussed which barriers prevent farmers supporting river health. For example, securing planning permission for infrastructure that protects rivers and complies with regulation – such as covered slurry stores – can be slow, difficult and stressful.

Achieving improvements in water quality depends on up-to-date, farm-level data to guide decision-making. Herefordshire Rural Hub, a community interest company supporting farmers in the Wye catchment, presented the results of their FarmGate Programme, which calculated the nutrient balance for 20% of farms in Herefordshire. The results showed that changing the composition of feed could significantly reduce nutrient loading without impacting farming output, with farmers already altering inputs in response.

The event highlighted how collaboration with farmers supports these outcomes. The Beacons Water Group – a joint-project between farmers and Welsh Water – highlighted the merits of this approach. The group fosters trusting relationships between farmers to share what works and apply for funding to trial new approaches to land and nutrient management. Puffin Produce and Pembrokeshire Creamery joined the Landscape Environment Network to bring together private funding and farmers to support regenerative farming approaches. The cooperation has implemented nature-based solutions to improve water quality throughout their supply chain, just one example of the changes farmers are making to support our rivers.