Increased intensification of farming is creating more pollution problems, according to the Environment Agency.
“Our data shows a clear pattern: while the number of farms is decreasing, pollution incidents are increasing,” wrote the agency’s chief regulator Jo Nettleton in her 2024-25 report.
In 2024, farming activities caused 74 serious pollution incidents, increasing from 53 in 2023. This is 12 per cent of all serious pollution incidents in 2024. Dairy farming caused 48 serious pollution incidents in 2024.
The trend “likely reflects the intensification of farming practices” Nettleton explained in the report. “Farms are consolidating, often without the necessary infrastructure or management systems to support their expansion. Climate change and a longstanding lack of investment in the sector may also be contributing factors.”
Campaigners for more sustainable farming – with smaller farms, higher animal welfare standards and fewer industrial inputs like pesticides and antibiotics – have been warning of such issues for years.
However, the new findings and conclusions are noteworthy because this is England’s environmental watchdog highlighting the issues – which means the government will have to listen.
In her first report, published earlier this year, Nettleton planted the seed for farming to become a major focus.
“I want to see improvements from this sector,” she said in January. “We know that agriculture is one of the most significant influences on water quality and water-dependent ecosystems. Agricultural businesses have a significant role to play in protecting water and the wider environment.”
Her latest report and findings will ramp up the pressure to better regulate farms and also encourage farmers to adopt improved management of slurry and soils. “Having a sharper eye on the reality we face is crucial for us to be an effective regulator,” she said.
Farms in the firing line
That reality is bigger farms with a potentially higher risk of pollution. The 12 per cent of serious pollution incidents which the farming sector was responsible for is actually the same percentage as those caused by seven of the nine water and sewerage companies; in the past 12 months, the major water companies have become fodder for mainstream newspapers due to their terrible records in managing pollution.
It would be unfair to compare the two sectors but for some time now the Environment Agency has had agriculture in its crosshairs. I was in the audience at the 2024 National Farmers Union conference when Alan Lovell, then chairman of the Environment Agency, faced thousands of farmers who had decried his agency’s handling of floods, and decided to turn the tables on them. “This is a two way street,” he said. “I’ll take my medicine on flooding, and other aspects. But please, will you take yours?”
Lovell had presented a slide showing water companies as responsible for 36 per cent of England’s river pollution – which was “appalling” – but it’s still less than the farming sector, which is responsible for 40 per cent. With the 36 per cent figure likely to fall due to refreshed regulatory efforts, increased investments, and the microscopic scrutiny of the water industry, he warned: “I think that just increases the urgency on us working with you to make absolutely sure that the agriculture number also comes down dramatically because otherwise it really will show up.”
Unfortunately, that is now what we are seeing from the reports produced by the agency as it tracks pollution more closely and develops a “smarter” approach to environmental regulation.
Farms have been subjected to many more inspections from agency officials, for example. Last year, the Environment Agency carried out 4,767 targeted inspections at non-permitted farms, up from 4,675 in 2023. This compared to 2018/19 when there were just 403 visits to registered farm businesses – which meant farmers could expect to receive an inspection from the regulator once every 263 years, according to Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC).
Slurry, unsurprisingly, is a particular problem. One hundred and thirty-nine slurry stores were causing pollution at the time of their inspection in the 2024/25 period. “For me, this demonstrates the absolute necessity for increasing our regulatory resource in this sector,” Nettleton said.
She said her teams are increasing regulatory presence through “record farm inspections, stronger enforcement, and active engagement with farmers”. Engagement levels have been high, it seems, with reports of farmers being encouraged and advised rather than reprimanded and fined.
The 2024 inspections show that 6,592 of 7,804 improvement actions had been completed on farms (84%). “This is very encouraging, and a great response from the farming industry,” Nettleton wrote. “We know not all actions can be addressed immediately due to factors such as financing, grant funding, and planning that can cause delays.”
Farmers need support – not only to minimise pollution and reduce their environmental impact, but also to sustain a living without having to supersize their operations. Indeed, the problems here go deeper than pollution from farms, with better regulation just the start.
Regime change
The UK Government has proposed regulatory reforms to simplify regulations, reduce burdens on farmers, and improve environmental outcomes. This comes on the back of the independent review of Defra’s regulatory landscape (the Corry review), published in April 2025, which recommended a single set of regulations which farmers can understand and comply with.
The Farming Rules for Water, as well as wider regulations relating to slurry application and storage, will be updated. The government has also recently confirmed that it will consider extending the environmental permitting regime to dairy farms, including the mega-dairies that are reportedly on the rise here.
The environmental permitting regulations (EPR) currently apply to 1,300 large intensive pig farms (which have more than 2,000 pigs over 30kg or 750 sows) and to poultry farms exceeding 40,000 places. This is about one per cent of all farm holdings in England and 32.5 per cent of specialist pig and poultry farms. Compliance levels are very high for those with permits.
Campaigners have called for EPR to be extended to big dairy and beef farms for years to help reduce air, nutrient and noise pollution.
However, some claimed this would barely scratch the surface of what is a much deeper problem with farm pollution. Sustain has, for example, highlighted that permits only cover what happens on the farm that produces the waste, when the pollution itself often happens “miles away when that waste is spread on land”.
Milking it
Recent research by the NGO showed that new megafarm permits are still being granted in “chronically polluted catchments”. Ruth Westcott, campaign manager at Sustain, said vital information is also being kept from councils and the public.
In November, Westcott together with DeSmog published an analysis of 35 proposed megafarm developments that showed not one declared its impacts on climate, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
“Agribusinesses don’t want to come clean about the pollution they cause because it could affect whether they are allowed to expand, and thus make more profits at the expense of our communities,” she explained.
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