Policy paper

Farming rules for water from April 2018

Details of the new ‘farming rules for water’ from 2 April 2018 for all farmers in England.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 30 November 2017
• Last updated: 2 April 2018 — See all updates

This was published under the 2016 to 2019 May Conservative government

Documents

Farming rules for water – getting full value from fertilisers and soil

PDF, 233 KB, 11 pages

Details

This publication sets out full details of the new ‘farming rules for water’ from 2 April 2018 for all farmers in England.

We published detailed guidance on the rules on 2 April 2018. The formal rules, the Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018 came into effect on that date.

The rules require good farming practice, so that farmers manage their land both to avoid water pollution and to benefit their business. They provide a step by step checklist to make sure that fertilisers are spread to meet crop and soil needs. Other rules safeguard water quality by requiring farmers to judge when it is best to apply fertilisers, where to store manures and how to avoid pollution from soil erosion.

We consulted on the proposed rules in 2015 and published a summary of the responses we received.

Published 30 November 2017
Last updated 2 April 2018 + show all updates

1. 2 April 2018

   We have removed the overview of the rules, now that we have published detailed guidance on how to comply with the rules.

2. 30 November 2017

   First published.