A Somerset farmer has been ordered to pay out over £20,000 after he pleaded guilty to causing slurry pollution in a case brought by the Environment Agency.
Ben Hembrow applied slurry to fields growing winter wheat and claimed that heavy rain, which he said had not been forecast, led to slurry running into surrounding ditches and road drains.
This resulted in fines and costs to Mr Hembrow and the farm totalling over £20,000 following sentencing at at Yeovil Magistrates Court last week.
Mr Hembrow, 36, admitted two charges relating to causing slurry pollution, while his company, Huntham Farm Ltd, also admitted one charge of causing a polluting discharge.
The court heard that an officer went to the Stoke St Gregory farm on a wet Sunday in February 2022, following a report of slurry running down a road and into a surface water drain close to the farm.
The officer found fields saturated in slurry and observed slurry entering nearby watercourses and ditches. While investigating, Mr Hembrow arrived on scene, visibly shaken.
He attempted to reduce the impact by blocking a ditch and used sub soiling equipment to help break up the surface of the soil and prevent further run-off.
Despite his actions the investigation later showed that over 1.5km of watercourse, as far as the confluence with the Sedgemoor Old Rhyne Site of Special Scientific Interest, had been impacted.
During interview Mr Hembrow claimed that the weather app he used had predicted only 1mm of rain the day after the slurry was applied.
The Environment Agency’s investigation established that heavy rain had been forecast to fall on the Sunday throughout the week by numerous weather forecasters including the BBC and the app used by Mr Hembrow.
However, he claimed he was not in breach of regulations to prevent pollution due to measures he had taken before spreading.
He specifically stated that, given the weather forecast he had consulted, he did not believe the application of slurry gave rise to a risk of pollution.
Summing up on 16 October, District Judge Brereton acknowledged Mr Hembrow to be a hard-working farmer committed to modern technology and farming practices.
However, she also concluded that the fine imposed should reflect that the standards of farming had fallen well below what is expected.
She also referenced aggravating features, specifically that Mr Hembrow had previously been prosecuted for offences in 2016 and 2021.
Mr Hembrow, as an individual, was fined £525 for failing to plan the slurry applications, while Huntham Farm Ltd was fined £8,000 for causing pollution and ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s costs of £11,564.
David Womack, senior environment officer for the agency, said the pollution was avoidable but occurred because Mr Hembrow failed to carry out basic checks.
He said: "Previous land management had led to the fields being compacted – anything spread on the soil was therefore likely to run off, even in moderate rainfall conditions.
"He wrongly assumed risk assessments for slurry application would be done by his agronomist – but it was his responsibility to do this just prior to the slurry being applied.
"Additional weather checks would also have alerted Mr Hembrow that wet weather was very likely to occur immediately after he chose to apply slurry.
"Since 2018 there have been specific laws to ensure organic manure applications are planned and that they take into account weather forecasts and soil conditions."
