LONDON, June 30 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

Today (30 June), the Environment Agency has published its inaugural AgricultureReport,givingan overview oftheenvironmental performance of the sector andshowcasinghow ithelpsfarmers improvetheirenvironmental impact.

TheEAengageswithfarmers, using advice,incentives,andenforcementwhere necessary,to improve compliance with environmentalregulations. In thepastfive years,EA officers have completedover 19,000 inspections of non-permitted farms tocheckcompliancewithwater qualityregulations.

During an on-farm inspection, officers will check compliance against a wide range of regulations and record any non-compliances.Rates of non-compliancehaveremainedsteadyat an average of 48%over the last five years, though a 5% decrease in the last year compared to the five-year averageindicatessigns of improvement. There are many variables that can affect rates of compliance, but an overall reduction is encouraging.

Today's report highlightsthe majority of  farmers takeprotecting the environmentveryseriously- withover19,000improvement actionscompleted,targeted atupgradingfarminfrastructureandreducing pollutionrisk,since April 2021.These actions range from fixing a small piece of guttering to the complete replacement of a slurry store.

The EA is set tofurtherincrease farm inspections to 6000 annually over the next 3 years withhigher levelsof government funding. 

Dr Jo Nettleton, Environment Agency's Chief Regulator, said:

Agriculture has a significant and increasing impact on our water environment.

Our approach is clear-we will work constructively with those who want to do the right thing, using advice and guidance as our primary tools.

Where this does not happen, we are increasing our regulatorypresence and moving through the sanctions available to us to take strong enforcement action.This report shows weare starting to see real progress - but there is more to do to protect our precious water environment.

This report, published annually going forward,is part of a suite of EA publications reviewing performance and environmental impact of the sectors it regulates.This includes the Chief Regulator's Report, detailing performance of its key sectors, and the Environmental Performance Assessment, assessing environmental compliance of water companies.

The regulator is committed to expanding its farm inspection programme and use of innovation, introducing the Agricultural Land Environmental Risk and Opportunity Tool (ALERT) tool, and remote sensing, to target work more effectively and reduce burden on compliant farms.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.