Helping you to comply with the law, reduce your risk of causing pollution and benefit your business.
Agriculture and the environment go hand in hand, shaping our landscapes and providing food, spaces for people and wildlife, as well as offering flood resilience in a changing climate. However, agriculture does have an impact on the environment and is responsible for around 40% of waterbodies failing to achieve good ecological status in England.
Improving environmental performance does not have to affect the cost of food production or limit the running of an efficient business, but it will need farmers, their advisors, regulators and others in the supply chain to work together to implement solutions. The good news is that better management of our farmland resources brings not only benefits for the environment, but it is also at the heart of sustainable and profitable farming systems.
I am delighted that this guide has been produced and am confident that it will help farmers to understand the environmental rules and regulations that govern how they should farm. It brings together a summary of what the rules are and why these are important for both the environment and the farm business, as well as where to find more information.
I hope farmers will find this a useful reference tool to help navigate environmental regulations. It will help them to realise the benefits they can bring to their businesses as food producers, while safeguarding and enhancing our countryside.
Alan Lovell, Environment Agency Chair
Source: Download the guide here