Given the months of excess rainfall experienced especially by potato growers, it was apt to hear from Wull Dryburgh from SEPA who gave the audience his personal thoughts.
Wull gave a lively presentation with photos of some extreme soil erosion and run off where thousands of tonnes of topsoil have been lost from many fields in recent months. Or as Wull put it, 2023 was ‘a bad year for soil erosion’. Storm Babet, for example, dumped seven inches of rain on the Angus Glens on a single day.
Explaining the wild weather Wull said: “There is no normal anymore, the new normal is that there is no normal. Climate change is happening and as far as I am concerned, we are beyond the tipping point now, I think it is going to get worse.”
Nevertheless, Wull felt that there was no point in farmers sticking their heads in the sand as there are mitigation measures farmers can and should be undertaking to reduce the dangers of soil erosion.
He cited many cases of fields he had seen around Loch Leven and the South Queich river catchment area where no mitigation had taken place. As a result, hundreds of tonnes of phosphorous rich soil had been washed into the Loch.
Wull predicted the summer of 2024 will see some of the worst cases of algal bloom. Wull was frustrated to see so many potato fields in this area not grubbed after harvest to help prevent run off. He was running out of patience and had his own personal suggestion for the audience to consider.
Under existing legalisation farmers are obliged to be in compliance with General Binding Rule (GBR) 20, which states land must be cultivated in a way that minimises the risk of pollution to the water environment, including as a result of soil erosion.
However, this is subjective and hard to enforce so Wull put it out there that there should be new rules that farmers would find easier to follow. Also SEPA would find it easier to prosecute, should these be broken.
At present, livestock farmers must have a Risk Assessment for Manures and Slurries known as a RAMS map. This gives a clear guidance to farmers and contractors on how to achieve best practice when spreading manures and slurries.
For example, where there is a red zone it means no spreading at any time. Orange is high risk, yellow is moderate risk and green areas pose no risk.
Wull proposed a similar system for arable farmers and this could be called a RASE map, Risk Assessment for Soil Erosion. This map would take into account soil type, cropping, cultivations, field drainage, slope and proximity to watercourses.
There also needs to be other mitigation measures such as the minimum size of buffer strips as it is clear that on some situations these must be much bigger than two metres from the top of a water course. And the same traffic light system as used for a RAMS map. Red being a no-go zone on each farm.
In the question and answer session Hamish Coutts pointed out that supermarkets often demand fresh vegetables to be harvested on schedules that may force farmers to harvest some crops regardless of weather.
Wull gave an example of a member of the public reporting a farmer who was harvesting swedes on December 27 last year, despite deep ruts and heavy rain leading to soil being washed onto the public road. Wull spoke to the farmer to point out there was no mitigation measures taking place such as grubbing the field and making better use of different access points to the field.
Wull concluded with Wull’s Law,‘Soil, nutrients and pesticides going down a river aren’t doing anyone any good’.
Wull told me later that it takes 500 years to make one inch of topsoil, yet hundreds of thousands of tonnes are lost to the North Sea in years like 2023. Given that soil is a farmers most valuable asset, then it has to be a win-win if SEPA and farmers work together to ensure soil stays in the field.
Dr Keith Dawson suggested the Scottish Government could help by introducing capital grants for new field drainage systems as many now need to be replaced. Wull pointed out that the decision was not one for SEPA to make. However, Keith suggested SEPA could put it on the table. From conversations during the break, it seems that the quango with the most seats around the Scottish Government table was Nature Scot.
The general feeling was that the Scottish Government would benefit from also having SEPA and Wull at the top table to give practical advice that farmers could engage with.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here