A positive response from local farmers to river restoration

WATER has set out to build a network of farmers in the Erme catchment who support our objective to restore water quality and wildlife habitat in the Erme valley.

Active measures such as creating treatment wetlands, that help filter out pollutants and leaky dams to slow water flow are the kind of sustainable, nature-based solutions that WATER believes will make a difference, if adopted by farmers across the catchment in a spirit of informal collaboration.

The Farmers Networking Evening, started with WATER’s Vice Chair, and local farmer, John Mildmay White sharing his experiences of running, single-handed, a 400 acre beef farm on regenerative principles with substantial savings on inputs and visible improvements in yield and diversity both for pasture and wildlife.

Jasmine Pearson from Catchment Sensitive Farming (CFS) explained how their advisers are locally based, so they understand the challenges faced by farmers in the Erme catchment. They can offer advice, tailored to each business, on a range of key farming topics including what capital grants may be applicable for priority catchments; to help reduce soil erosion and nutrient or pesticide losses to water.

Farmers welcome the opportunity to share ideas and experiences

Providing opportunities for like-minded farmers to meet over a meal in a relaxed atmosphere, engenders a sense of mutual support and encouragement as well as being able to share ideas and experiences. It also gives local farmers a voice in the debate about the best way forward in the increasingly important balance between preserving income and preserving nature. It is an approach which WATER is happy to encourage and promote.

WATER recognises that farmers are facing more demands and challenges than ever in a fast-changing world. Increasing costs, the impacts of climate change and changes in government policy can all be difficult to predict and manage. Many farmers attending were keen to work with WATER to promote to the community the positive actions many are taking. We are happy to include those positive stories in our communications activities and encourage farmers to keep us updated on what they are doing. 

During the evening, farmers sat in group workshop sessions, sharing ideas and responding to questions we had posed. It was extremely encouraging to find those discussions continuing when the formal part of the evening closed. This is definitely a format WATER will be repeating.