Helping farmers improve the health of our region’s rivers
Agriculture is the largest contributor to rivers in England not achieving good status, according to the Environment Agency the sector is responsible for 40% of reasons for rivers in England not achieving good ecological status. As we experience more extreme weather conditions, more fertiliser, natural waste and pesticides from farms find their way into rivers.
While we don’t own our region’s rivers, we recognise that we have an important role to play in improving river health - not only by continuing to minimise our impact on rivers but to also support others, such as the agricultural sector.
At Severn Trent we’re unique in our approach to support farmers – no other water company works with the agricultural community on this scale. In the last decade we’ve supported over 5,000 farmers to protect water quality through a number of different schemes, and we continue to be committed to doing more to support the sector.
Why we’re encouraging farmers to swap their nozzles
The biggest tool for many farms in crop protection is their crop sprayer and the variety of equipment that goes with it.
We know that farmers need all the right tools to do the job. This includes using plant protection products that are needed to grow healthy and sustainable crops.
We want to protect water quality as much as possible at source and we know that swapping to low drift nozzles should reduce pesticides reaching watercourses – helping to reduce water pollution and protect and maintain the natural environment.
Read on to find out more about one farmer’s experience of working with Severn Trent to increase efficiency and reduce pollution risk.
Richard Williams is a farmer in Worcestershire who signed up for the Swap Your Nozzles scheme, which offers practical advice and free low-drift nozzles for farmers looking to reduce pollution risks of pesticide application.
The Swap Your Nozzles scheme consists of an online workshop for farmers to attend, along with a free set of low-drift nozzles and caps posted out to participants after the session.
“I’m becoming increasingly aware of the pollution risks to waterways caused by pesticides, but I also want to achieve better control of autumn weeds, such as blackgrass in my winter wheat.”
“I had a chat with my Severn Trent agricultural adviser. She suggested I sign up for the Swap Your Nozzles scheme seeing as I was in a pesticide priority catchment. This would not only give me a free set of low-drift nozzles, but also give me access to agronomic advice for some of the challenges I’ve been facing on-farm.”
“When I first used the low-drift nozzles, I was amazed that I couldn’t see any drift at all.”
The flexibility offered by the new nozzles has improved Mr Williams’ spray efficiency and helped to cut costs because of reduced wastage. Mr William’s can now manage key weeds, pests and diseases more effectively while minimising the amount of run-off and pesticide drift.
“Such a small change has made a big difference on the farm.”
Richard Williams
At Severn Trent we treat every catchment we work in individually and our dedicated team work hard to develop a unique approach for each one.
We have developed a range of tools which take account of the different pressures on water quality, and differing land management techniques and which help us to deliver wonderful water in the most sustainable way possible.