Statutory guidance

Enforcing the Farming Rules for Water

Updated 18 June 2025

Applies to England

This guidance should be read with ‘The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018’ (‘the 2018 regulations’) – also known as the ‘Farming Rules for Water’. References in this page to the Farming Rules for Water should be read as references to the 2018 regulations. The guidance is for the Environment Agency, with respect to the Agency’s functions under these regulations. It has been issued by the Secretary of State for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, under regulation 15 of the Farming Rules for Water.

The Farming Rules for Water were introduced to reduce and prevent diffuse water pollution from agricultural sources. It covers applying and storing fertilisers and the management of soil and livestock. The Environment Agency enforces the Farming Rules for Water in accordance with its published enforcement and sanctions policy and guidance.

This guidance does not amend the regulations, and its impact is limited to matters that are covered below. It tells the Environment Agency about criteria that they should consider when they assess if they should take enforcement action under the regulations.

Enforcement of individual cases remains a matter for the Environment Agency to determine based on the case’s particular circumstances.

1. Environment Agency enforcement approach

The Environment Agency will generally prioritise giving advice and guidance before taking enforcement action. It directs land managers to guidance and grants, and schemes like the Catchment Sensitive Farming partnership.

The Environment Agency may still escalate and impose civil or criminal sanctions if appropriate, in particular if advice, guidance and warning letters do not achieve the necessary changes in behaviours.

2. Enforcing the rules for the use of organic manure and manufactured fertiliser to agricultural land

Unless stated otherwise all definitions and terminology in this guidance must be read in accordance with the definitions within the Farming Rules for Water.

The Environment Agency should consider the criteria set out below when:

• carrying out an inspection under the Farming Rules for Water
• deciding whether enforcement action is required

2.1 Planning applications of organic manures and manufactured fertilisers

Land managers should be able to demonstrate that they have planned applications of organic manure or manufactured fertiliser in accordance with the Farming Rules for Water. This includes, for example, a nutrient management plan or other written plan.

Plans should:

• be proportionate to the needs of individual circumstances, informing decisions about applying organic manures and manufactured fertilisers
• show an assessment of the crop nutrient requirement for each cultivated land parcel

Assessment of the crop nutrient requirement should be informed by one of the following:

• a manual such as AHDB’s nutrient management guide (RB209)
• farm software such as PLANET, MANNER-NPK or nutrient management tools such as those provided by Tried and Tested
• a suitably qualified professional, such as a FACTS qualified agronomist

Plans should also take account of:

• the results of soil sampling and analysis
• the nutrient content of the applied organic manures and manufactured fertilisers

The nutrient content of organic manure can be identified using available and suitable nutrient management tools or manure testing (such as laboratory analysis or near infra-red sensors for liquid manures).

2.2 Content of plans

Land managers must plan to avoid significant risk of agricultural diffuse pollution. This includes not exceeding the needs of the soil and crop on the land. The needs of the crop and soil and the risk of diffuse pollution will depend on individual circumstances. The Environment Agency should take these into account when assessing plans.

In all cases, land managers must demonstrate that they are planning to take all appropriate reasonable precautions to help mitigate against the risk of agricultural diffuse pollution.

2.2.1 Crop and soil need

Land managers must not plan to apply more nitrogen than the soil and crop need on that land.

Plans should demonstrate that land managers are planning to avoid applying organic manures that raise the Soil Phosphorus Index (soil P index) above target levels for soil and crop on land.

2.3 Assessing the risk of nitrate pollution for planned spreading

When assessing if planned spreading would give rise to a significant risk of agricultural diffuse pollution from nitrate leaching, the Environment Agency should consider:

• sections 2.1 and 2.2
• the readily available nitrogen (RAN) content of different organic manures (the relative risks of diffuse pollution from applying organic manures of varying nutrient content can differ)
• the soil type of the receiving land (applications of organic manures to sandy and shallow soils can pose a greater risk of nitrate leaching)
• whether all appropriate reasonable precautions are being taken to help mitigate against the risk of diffuse pollution
• whether the requirements under the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2015 for holdings located in a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) are being met

2.4 Assessment of reasonable precautions

Land managers should plan to have established green cover by 15 October as a reasonable precaution to help prevent agricultural diffuse pollution resulting from applications to that land. Green cover means any commercial crop, green manure or cover crop. Land managers may decide on the most appropriate type of green cover, depending on their individual circumstances.

Land managers must demonstrate appropriate justifications if they are not planning for green cover to be established on land by 15 October or if they are planning to leave the land bare over winter. Appropriate justifications can be considered for agronomic or environmental reasons, such as when land managers must:

• delay drilling to enable activities to control persistent weeds, such as blackgrass

• leave medium and heavy soils to weather before a spring root crop

Land managers should incorporate organic manures into soils to act as a reasonable precaution against diffuse pollution, unless there are appropriate agronomic or environmental reasons not to.

A high RAN organic manure has a RAN content above 30 percent. Land managers may justify delaying incorporating organic manures with a RAN content under 30 percent if both:

• it is not practical to do so within 12 hours of spreading
• they have assessed relevant risk factors as not being significant over the application and incorporation period

Circumstances where it may not be appropriate to incorporate organic manures include but are not limited to:

• if it is applied to a growing crop or grassland

• if precision application methods for manures are used which mitigate diffuse pollution as well as, or better than, incorporation

3. Review period for guidance

The Secretary of State may review this guidance at any time and, in any event, will do so no later than September 2028.