Protecting water and soil with sustainable farming

Working with farmers and landowners to improve the water and soil health on the land they manage is an important aspect of the Four Rivers for LIFE Project.

These are also key features of sustainable farming practices and can enable the farming industry to restore and improve the natural environment and the condition of our rivers without losing farm productivity or profitability.

This blog is written in collaboration with Lilwen Joynson, Agrisgôp leader on behalf of Farming Connect and will explain the importance of water and soil health and the vital role of sustainable farming practices and knowledge sharing within the farming industry.

Soil and water health – the influence of one on the other

The annual cost of soil degradation in England and Wales is an estimated £1.2 billion, according to research published by Cranfield University in 2015. This is mainly linked to loss of organic content of soils, compaction and erosion.

Poor quality soil has long-term consequences for farms regarding sustainability, productivity, profitability and the environment. 

A well-structured soil will allow deeper and more extensive root growth, which is crucial for plants to access water and nutrients in deeper soil layers. 

In extreme weather such as heavy rainfall, the diverse roots help hold the soil together and reduce erosion, in drought soils will hold on to more water for longer, helping to keep plants alive.

The loss of soil from a farm is undesirable as you lose irreplaceable soil and valuable nutrients, it also collects on roads and enters watercourses. 

The management of soils can directly impact our rivers by causing nutrient enrichment and smothering river bed gravels. These then affect the life cycle of many species found in our streams and rivers. 

Salmon and trout, for instance, require clean, oxygenated gravels to spawn. Water must pass through gravel so that eggs can breathe, however soils and silt can smoother eggs or make gravels unsuitable for spawning.

Farming industry pressures

As elsewhere in the UK, nature in Wales is under pressure. Management of agricultural land has been identified as the most significant factor driving species population change in the UK (State of Nature Report 2023).

Nature is fundamental to farming practices providing essential resource and processes such as nutrient cycles that support food production and increase farm resilience.

The newly published Sustainable Farming Scheme aims to support sustainable land management focusing on the objectives of ensuring sustainable food production, addressing climate and nature emergencies, and promoting countryside access and the Welsh language.

The scheme will offer support to farmers in Wales to make it easier for farmers to produce high quality food sustainably in ways that meet the Welsh Government’s commitment to nature, the environment and climate change.

Until the scheme commences in 2026 ‘knowledge sharing visits’ can be an important way to learn more about sustainable farming practices showing how farm productivity doesn’t have to be at the expense of the environment or delivering for the environment does not have to be at the expense of farm productivity. 

Importance of sharing knowledge 

At the start of this year a knowledge sharing visit was organised to Ireland for a Farming Connect Agrisgôp group by Lilwen Joynson and the Four Rivers for LIFE project. The group (see image below) was a collection of farmers from across Wales brought together to learn more about sustainable farming and biological farming practices. 

The focus of the visit was on showing how sustainable farming can protect and enhance the natural environment and at the same time improve farm productivity and profitability. 

It began with the principles of good soil management which will improve the land’s absorption of nutrients and water, ensuring more stays in the land and out of our rivers, keeping our rivers healthier. 

Sustainable land management in practice 

To see this in practice and find out more the group visited several Irish farms during their three day visit.

Originally the Irish farmers could be described as conventional or intensive farmers,  relying on the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, planting single crops over large areas and utilising intensive tillage of the land.

Over the last 10 years these farmers have gradually changed their practices, and although they found the initial change to sustainable farming challenging they’re now seeing major financial benefits to their farm business. 

Kevin O’Hanlon of Ballywilliam Enniscorthy Co Wexford manages an organic and biological dairy farm. He farms 320 acres with his long term goal of being a fully grass fed dairy farm feeding no grain or concentrates.

He has been growing a mix of peas, oats, barley, wheat and beans and this is under sown with multispecies sward or red clover silage. This is then harvested together 14 weeks later as pit silage and additional feed for the cows over winter.

The advantage of sowing the multispecies sward or red clover silage at the same time as the cereal crops is because it help with weed suppression and provides different root lengths. This helps improve soil structure and soil health. 

In 2024 Kevin discovered 41 grass, herb and legume plant species in his pastures, compared with sometimes only four species like rye grass and red and white clover, on a typical dairy farm. 

This diversity of species increases soil aggregation and pore space, increasing water infiltration which in turn improves the abundance and diversity of soil life, nutrient availability and plant growth. This builds the soil’s health and reduces the need to buy in fertilisers. Next year he aims to reseed with more natural legumes.

The key to sustainable grazing is to allow the paddock or field longer rest periods, this is sometimes referred to as Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing or graze and rest. 

Kevin uses AMP grazing and moves the cows on daily (weather depending), this allows a rest period of up to 80 days as opposed to rotational grazing at 35 days. This gives the grass a longer time to recover allowing the grass to recover leaf area, produce seeds and accumulate reserves.  

Kevin has noticed significant improvements to cow health and grass survival as a result of these changes. The cows are living longer and healthier lives, with the grass in better condition and able to cope with extreme weather events. 

The soil has improved dramatically due to the grass being longer and more robust, with better ground conditions and less soil damage from cattle moving.

This enables Kevin to leave the cows out for longer on grass into the winter months, meaning less feed is bought in and less money spent. This way of managing also means lower labour requirements, lower variable costs and a simpler farming system all round. 

Next steps for the group

From the visit it was clear that improving the soil through less inputs and changes to farm practices are difficult challenges, but it is something the Irish and Welsh farmers were open to and keen to discuss and implement further. 

Sustainable farming has many and varied benefits for farmers, the natural environment and wildlife.

By working together to manage the land sustainably, we can maintain and improve the services that nature provides us.

This will pave the way for a sustainable farming industry and other associated benefits such as thriving wildlife and improved river quality.

A Celtic Conference is planned for October where farmers and experts from both sides of the Irish Sea will meet again to discuss sustainable farming and the practical changes that have been made by Welsh farmers since the first visit.  

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