During the Environment Agency’s Flood Action Week, which ran from 14 to 20 October, they issued a press release urging farmers in Devon and Cornwall not to take chances and gamble high-risk crops against a changing climate.
The Environment Agency is concerned about the effect heavy and prolonged rainfall is having on the farmland in Devon and Cornwall, especially in areas with steep slopes.
The wet year has delayed harvest time for some farmers. This has left less time available for planting cover crops that will act to bind the soil and reduce runoff during the winter’s wet weather.
When bare, compacted land is left after the harvest, heavy rain can mean runoff that will erode soil, pollute watercourses and flood roads and neighbouring properties.
Farmers are being asked to consider rethinking when planning their cropping for next year because of the changing weather climate, for instance, avoiding growing high-risk crops on fields that tend to be naturally wet and where compaction is inevitable and difficult to remove late in the year.
The Environment Agency have also encouraged using cover crops to avoid leaving compacted and bare soils over winter.
For full details on the recommendations made, see: www.gov.uk/government/news/devon-and-cornwall-farmers-urged-to-plan-for-heavier-rainfall