The NFU has responded to Defra’s rapid review of the Farming Rules for Water Statutory Guidance – which tells the Environment Agency how to enforce the regulations.
The Statutory Guidance was introduced to help manage the impacts of this interpretation on farmers and the environment and is highly valued by many.
Defra had always planned to review the document by September 2025, but under pressure from the Office for Environmental Protection, it began a rapid review last month.
The NFU, and other key stakeholders, were only given two weeks to feed in comments but we managed to consult members widely and deliver the following key messages.
We are now preparing for a range of potential outcomes from this review and will keep members up to date on next steps.
Once you have submitted your query someone from NFU CallFirst will contact you. If needed, your query will then be passed to the appropriate NFU policy team.
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