Comply with Farming Rules for Water

The Farming Rules for Water came into force on 2 April 2018. They apply to all farmers and land managers in England, regardless of farm size, type, or whether you receive government payments. Certified organic farms must comply too, and your certification body's standards may set stricter limits on nutrient rates and timing.

Officially known as "The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018", these rules were introduced to protect water quality from agricultural pollution. Diffuse pollution occurs when pollutants from fertilisers, manures, sediment, and soil gradually enter watercourses through runoff, erosion, and leaching.

The Environment Agency enforces these rules through farm inspections.

Overview of the 8 rules

The Farming Rules for Water consist of 8 rules grouped into two categories: 5 rules about managing fertilisers and manures, and 3 rules about managing soil and livestock.

Rule 1: Plan your fertiliser and manure applications

You must plan each application of organic manure or manufactured fertiliser on your agricultural land. This means assessing what nutrients your soil and crop need, and not applying more than necessary.

What the regulations require

Before applying any fertiliser or organic manure, you must:

• Assess the crop's nutrient requirements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium)
• Consider the nutrients already available in the soil
• Account for the nutrient content of any organic manures you plan to apply
• Plan applications so they do not exceed what the soil and crop need
• Avoid raising soil phosphorus levels above target (typically Soil P Index 2)

The statutory guidance supporting this rule was replaced on 18 June 2025. Under the current guidance, applications must not exceed the soil and crop need at the time of application. You cannot rely on the earlier guidance's latitude for autumn spreading ahead of future crop need.

How to create a nutrient management plan

Your plan should demonstrate that you have considered nutrient needs before spreading. It can be:

• handwritten field-by-field calculations: crop requirement, minus soil reserves, minus manure nutrients, gives the fertiliser requirement
• produced with RB209-based nutrient management software or a commercial farm management system
• prepared for you by a FACTS-qualified adviser

The key is having evidence that you planned before spreading. Records created after the event do not satisfy the planning requirement.

Rule 2: Use soil test results on cultivated land

If you are applying organic manure or manufactured fertiliser to cultivated agricultural land, you must take into account soil test results in your planning.

What counts as cultivated land

Cultivated agricultural land is agricultural land that has been cultivated:

• by physical means, such as ploughing, sowing or harvesting, at least once in the previous year, or
• by chemical means, such as applying organic manure or manufactured fertiliser, at least once in the previous 3 years

This means grassland that has had organic manure or manufactured fertiliser applied in the previous 3 years counts as cultivated land, even if it has not been ploughed, and you need soil test results for it. Soil test results must be no more than 5 years old.

Why soil testing matters

Soil testing is the foundation of efficient nutrient management. Without knowing your soil's current nutrient status, you cannot plan applications accurately. Benefits include:

• You avoid paying for fertiliser your soil does not need
• You do not pollute watercourses with excess nutrients
• Knowing the deficiencies helps you target applications and improve yields
• You have evidence to show inspectors

How to get your soil tested

1. Take 25 cores per field or management zone at consistent depth (0-15cm for arable, 0-7.5cm for grassland)
2. Use a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Results from non-accredited labs may not be accepted
3. Ask for a standard agricultural analysis covering at least pH, P index, K index and Mg index
4. Keep the results where you can produce them during inspections
5. Retest at least every 5 years, and more often if you make large applications

Rule 3: Do not apply to waterlogged, frozen, or snow-covered ground

You must not apply organic manure or manufactured fertiliser when soil or weather conditions create a significant risk of pollution.

What "frozen for more than 12 hours" means

If the soil surface has been frozen for more than 12 hours in the previous 24-hour period, you must not spread. This is regardless of whether it has since thawed. The rationale is that frozen-then-thawed soil has reduced infiltration capacity.

Assessing "significant risk of pollution"

Beyond the specific prohibited conditions, you must assess whether there is a significant risk of pollution from any application. Consider:

• Rain expected within 24-48 hours significantly increases runoff risk
• Steeper slopes create faster runoff
• Heavy clay soils have higher runoff risk than sandy soils
• Compacted soils cannot absorb applied materials
• Fields adjacent to watercourses are higher risk
• Already wet soils cannot absorb more liquid

The "full slurry store" is not an excuse

The Environment Agency is clear that inadequate storage capacity is not an acceptable reason for spreading in prohibited conditions. If your store is full and ground conditions are unsuitable, you are expected to have planned storage capacity to avoid this situation. This is a fundamental compliance requirement.

Rule 4: Apply fertiliser and manure away from water

You must maintain buffer zones when applying organic manure and manufactured fertiliser near watercourses.

Precision equipment reduces the buffer zone

You can apply organic manure within 6 metres (instead of 10 metres) of inland freshwaters or coastal waters if you use precision application equipment:

• Trailing hose band spreader
• Trailing shoe band spreader
• Shallow injector (injects no deeper than 10cm below surface)
• Dribble bar applicator
• Other equipment designed for accurate application

The investment in precision equipment can be worthwhile if you have land close to watercourses, as it allows more productive use of that land while maintaining compliance.

Mapping your buffer zones

Good practice is to mark buffer zones on your farm maps. This helps:

• Brief operators before spreading
• Demonstrate compliance during inspections
• Plan spreading routes to avoid buffer areas

Rule 5: Store manure safely

When storing organic manure on your land (field heaps or temporary storage), you must consider runoff risk.

Storage requirements

• Store organic manure at least 10 metres from any inland freshwater or coastal water
• Store at least 50 metres from any spring, well, or borehole
• Do not store where there is a significant risk of runoff entering watercourses

Site selection for field heaps

When choosing where to place a temporary manure heap:

• Avoid low-lying areas where water collects
• Check there are no drains directly underneath
• Consider slope direction - runoff will flow downhill
• Avoid areas that flood during high rainfall
• Rotate heap locations to prevent nutrient build-up

Permanent storage facilities

Constructed slurry stores and silage clamps must also comply with:

• The Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil Regulations set construction standards for permanent storage, and require at least 4 months' slurry storage capacity for new, substantially enlarged or substantially reconstructed stores
• In Nitrate Vulnerable Zones you must have 5 months' storage (covering 1 October to 1 March) for cattle, sheep, goat, deer and horse slurry, and 6 months (1 October to 1 April) for pig slurry and poultry manure. The Farming Rules for Water themselves set no minimum storage period
• Large pig and poultry units require permits

Rule 6: Manage livestock near water

Livestock access to watercourses causes direct pollution and bank damage. The regulations impose specific requirements to prevent this.

Preventing poaching near water

You must prevent livestock compacting soil by trampling (poaching) within 5 metres of inland freshwaters or coastal waters. Poaching:

• Destroys vegetation cover that protects banks
• Compacts soil, reducing infiltration
• Creates channels for polluted runoff into watercourses
• Introduces faecal bacteria directly to water

Feeder placement

You must not place livestock feeders:

• Within 10 metres of any inland freshwater or coastal water
• Within 50 metres of any spring, well, or borehole

This includes water troughs, ring feeders, feed trailers, and any other feeding point that concentrates livestock activity.

Practical solutions

• Fence watercourses to exclude livestock, with alternative drinking water provision
• Create hard-surfaced areas around feeders to prevent poaching
• Move stock before poaching becomes severe
• Provide pasture pumps or piped water away from watercourses

Fencing watercourses and providing alternative drinking water can also qualify for Countryside Stewardship payments.

Rule 7: Prevent soil erosion

You must take reasonable precautions to prevent soil erosion and runoff caused by land management practices.

High-risk activities

Activities that can cause erosion include:

• Cultivating up-and-down slopes (creates channels for water)
• Leaving bare soil over winter
• Late harvesting on wet ground
• Over-working soil to fine tilths
• Removing field boundaries that intercept runoff

Reasonable precautions

What counts as a "reasonable precaution" depends on individual circumstances, but includes:

• Cultivate across slopes, since contour ploughing slows the flow of water
• Keep soil covered with cover crops, crop residues or rough seedbeds
• Avoid cultivating when soil is very wet
• Minimise passes and use appropriate machinery
• Keep hedgerows and field margins, which intercept and slow runoff

Erosion after maize and potatoes

Late-harvested root crops and maize are particular erosion risks because harvest occurs in autumn when:

• Ground is often wet
• Heavy machinery causes compaction
• Land is left bare through winter rainfall

Consider under-sowing cover crops, using tramlines to concentrate compaction, and sub-soiling to restore structure.

Rule 8: Manage soil compaction

You must take reasonable precautions to prevent pollution from soil compaction caused by livestock or machinery.

Why compaction matters

Compacted soil:

• Cannot absorb rainfall - water runs off the surface
• Carries sediment and pollutants to watercourses
• Reduces crop yields and grass growth
• Creates boggy conditions that worsen with livestock movement

Identifying compaction

Signs of compaction include:

• Standing water after rain where it did not previously gather
• Poor crop establishment in wheel lines
• Roots growing sideways rather than downwards (check with spade)
• Soil that is hard to dig or does not crumble
• Increased runoff visible in field corners

Preventing compaction

• Avoid working or grazing very wet fields
• Use correct (lower) tyre pressures for field work
• Confine machinery to permanent tramlines (controlled traffic farming)
• House or move stock before grazing causes severe poaching
• Install permanent tracks for regular heavy traffic

Remediation

If compaction has occurred, remediation options include:

• Sub-soiling (when soil is dry enough)
• Sward lifters for grassland
• Deep-rooted break crops
• Allowing natural recovery through wetting/drying and frost cycles

How Farming Rules for Water interact with NVZ requirements

If your land is in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ), you must comply with both the Farming Rules for Water and the NVZ rules, and where they overlap the stricter rule applies. NVZ rules add closed periods when you cannot spread certain fertilisers and manures, a limit of 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare a year from organic manures, maximum total nitrogen for each crop, risk maps, records kept for 5 years, and slurry storage of 5 months for cattle and other grazing livestock or 6 months for pigs and poultry. NVZs are reviewed every 4 years, and newly designated land gets a transition period to build storage.

Link to scheme payments after cross-compliance

Cross-compliance ended in England on 31 December 2023, and it was not replaced by a separate "conditionality" inspection regime. Instead, two things do the work it did:

• The Farming Rules for Water, NVZ rules, SSAFO storage standards, the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 (2-metre buffer strips from the centre of a hedgerow and a hedge-cutting ban from 1 March to 31 August, enforced by the RPA through civil sanctions), and animal identification law all apply to every farm regardless of any scheme membership
• If you have a Sustainable Farming Incentive or Countryside Stewardship agreement, its terms require you to comply with the law. Breaching the Farming Rules for Water can therefore lead to recovery of payments or termination of your agreement

The RPA takes an advice-led approach to scheme breaches, but serious or repeated regulatory breaches can result in payment recovery or removal from a scheme, on top of any Environment Agency enforcement.

Enforcement and penalties

The Environment Agency enforces the Farming Rules for Water through targeted farm inspections. The enforcement approach has evolved since the rules were introduced, with increased focus on achieving compliance outcomes.

The advice-led approach

The Environment Agency generally prioritises advice and guidance before formal enforcement. A typical enforcement sequence is:

1. An inspector notes a breach during a farm visit.
2. You are told what changes are needed and by when.
3. The inspector re-inspects or asks for photographs showing the changes.
4. If you have not made the changes, the case escalates to formal enforcement.

When immediate enforcement occurs

The advice-led approach is bypassed when:

• Pollution is actively occurring (e.g., slurry reaching a watercourse)
• There is imminent risk of serious pollution
• The breach is intentional or reckless
• Previous advice has been ignored
• The farmer obstructs the inspection

What inspectors check

During a Farming Rules for Water inspection, expect checks of:

• Soil test results (within 5 years on cultivated land)
• Nutrient management plans (evidence of planning before spreading)
• Fertiliser and manure application records
• Slurry store condition and capacity
• Buffer strips adjacent to watercourses
• Livestock access to water
• Feeder locations
• Evidence of erosion or runoff
• Field manure storage locations

Prosecution outcomes

Serious or repeated breaches can result in prosecution. Environmental offences carry unlimited fines, and courts follow the Sentencing Council's environmental offences guideline. Factors that increase penalties include:

• Deliberate or reckless breach
• Significant environmental harm
• Financial gain from the breach
• Previous enforcement history
• Failure to cooperate with investigation

Good practice beyond compliance

The Farming Rules for Water set minimum legal requirements. Good practice often exceeds these standards and can deliver business benefits as well as environmental protection.

Soil health

• Test every 3-4 years rather than the minimum 5
• Track soil organic matter alongside nutrients
• Maintain living roots year-round where possible
• Minimise soil disturbance to protect structure

Nutrient efficiency

• Have slurry nutrient content tested in a laboratory rather than using book values
• Use variable rate technology to match application to variation across a field
• Split applications to match crop uptake patterns
• Incorporate high RAN manures within 12 hours to reduce ammonia loss

Water protection

• Leave 6-metre buffers, which give more protection than the 2-metre minimum
• Plant trees and shrubs along watercourses to filter runoff and stabilise banks
• Fence watercourses to exclude all livestock, not just within 5 metres
• Install sediment traps in high-risk areas to catch eroded soil before it reaches water

Funding for going further

Many actions that exceed Farming Rules compliance are eligible for environmental scheme payments:

• The Sustainable Farming Incentive, when it is open, pays for soil assessment, cover crops and integrated pest management
• Countryside Stewardship pays for buffer strips, riparian management and water management features
• Capital grants pay for fencing watercourses, livestock drinking points and slurry storage

Red Tractor, LEAF Marque and other farm assurance schemes build Farming Rules for Water compliance into their standards, so an assurance audit may find gaps before an Environment Agency inspector does.