Your Cornwall county NFU update

The EA carried out 485 inspections across Devon and Cornwall in 2025/2026, the most frequently observed non-compliances were:

1. Slurry stores
2. Silage clamps
3. Clean and dirty water separation
4. Nutrient Management Plans
5. Soil testing

However, the EA can be most concerned about high-risk non-compliances. These pose the greatest environmental risk and can have serious and immediate impacts on water quality, localised flooding and wider environmental harm. These are:

• High-risk cropping practices - (e.g. maize, potatoes, and bulbs) grown on vulnerable soils or high-risk sites, leading to soil erosion, runoff and pollution incidents during heavy rainfall.
• Overtopping or structurally compromised slurry stores - particularly older infrastructure with insufficient storage capacity or increased risk of failure.
• Silage effluent escaping containment - which can cause significant and immediate pollution of watercourses.
• Poor separation of clean and dirty water - resulting in contaminated runoff entering drainage systems or the wider environment.

You can contact your local Catchment Sensitive Farming officer who work with farmers to provide free advice. Although there may not be availability for the Catchment Sensitive Farming officer to visit ahead of the inspection, you will be able to demonstrate that you have engaged with them, and a visit is planned.

You can read more about what to inspect from an inspection: EA inspections – what to expect when your farm is being inspected – NFUonline

As beavers begin to return to parts of England, new guidance has been published setting out what this could mean for farm businesses and importantly, what support is available to help manage impacts on the ground.

This short briefing is worth a read for any member with rivers, watercourses or wet ground, as it:

• Sets out practical management approaches where beavers are present
• Highlights funding available through ELMS to reduce risk and support coexistence
• Explains how farmers’ interests can be protected as future releases are considered

While beavers can bring benefits such as natural flood management and improved water retention, they can also create challenges for farm businesses.

Key ELMS options to be aware of

The briefing highlights several existing options that can help farmers manage beaver activity:

SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive)

• BFS6: 6–12m watercourse buffer strip (£742/ha)
  Helps reduce impacts by creating space between beavers and productive land
• Grass buffer strips (CIGL3, CAHL4, BFS1)
  4–24m strips to protect arable and grassland from edge impacts

Capital items

• BC3: Crop protection fencing (£6.34/m)
• BC4: Tree guards (£74.74/unit)
• BC5: Expert dam management (up to 90% funded)
  Supports protection of key assets and managing problem activity

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT)

• CSW12: “Make room for the river” (£1,489/ha)
  Longer term option allowing natural river movement and reducing conflict
• CSW22: Connect river and floodplain habitats (£1,242/ha)
  Helps create resilient wetland systems alongside farming
• CSW25: Manage riparian habitats (£1,186/ha)
  Flexible option for improving water edge management

Additional support

• CSP9: Threatened species supplement (for additional support where needed)

It’s clear that making space for water and wildlife will increasingly be part of future land management, but this must be backed by:

• Accessible and practical schemes
• Adequate funding
• Clear support for farmers where impacts occur

We would encourage members to review the briefing and consider how these options could apply to their own holdings. We also understand some of these schemes are not open at the moment and uncertainty around them, so please reach out to us or your local CSF officer if you want more information

If you're looking to get advice from a Catchment Sensitive Farming officer you can request support by filling out the ‘Advice Request’ form and returning to their mailbox at [email protected] . This is a required step in the CSF advice process, so please complete all relevant sections of the document.

If you have already submitted the ‘Advice Request’ form but have not yet received a response, please be aware that they have received a large volume of applications. They are working through these and will respond to each applicant in due course.

For more information about the advice CSF can offer, visit: Catchment Sensitive Farming - Farm Advice

To see what’s happening near you, visit: Catchment Sensitive Farming - Events

It has recently been confirmed that Natural England has granted a full licence for a wild beaver release in Cornwall, and further information about the project is provided below.

Over the past two years, Cornwall Wildlife Trust has carried out feasibility work to assess whether a licensed wild release would be appropriate for the county. Following this, a formal release licence was submitted to Natural England. In January 2026, the application was approved, and Cornwall’s first fully licensed wild beaver release has taken place in February 2026.

This marks the first time beavers have been legally released into a river system in the county, outside of an enclosed release area. The 10‑year project allows Cornwall Wildlife Trust to release up to 15 pairs of beavers into the Par and Fowey catchments.

A dedicated Beaver Project Officer is in place to support landowners with understanding beaver behaviour, managing impacts, and developing practical coexistence approaches tailored to local farming systems.

Anyone wanting to learn more about living alongside beavers or discuss support options can contact Lauren Jasper, Beaver Officer, at [email protected].

The Environment Agency has released a video for farmers and contractors on slurry store construction and SSAFO regulations. It explains slurry and silage storage management, the benefits of getting it right, and how to stay compliant. 

For more information: 

Farming Rules for Water: Guidance on Farming Rules for Water – NFUonline

SSAFO Regulations: Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil storage – what you need to know – NFUonline