The Welsh government has announced plans to make short-term amendments to the cross-compliance penalties related to the new water quality regulations.
A new written statement from Wales' Deputy First Minister provides some information on changes to penalties under the controversial nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ) regulations.
It includes proportionate penalties where full assessments of records can be made and where technical non-compliances do not present a pollution risk.
Penalties will also be reduced for those who have undertaken reasonable steps to meet the new storage requirements but which are not currently compliant up until 1 August 2025.
As part of the anti-pollution regulations, which have been rolled out gradually since 2021, there is increased restrictions around field muck heaps, slurry stores, crop limits and holding limits.
Since 1 August 2024, there are now requirements for the closed periods for spreading nitrogen fertiliser (includes slurry and other organic manures), as well as storage capacity for slurry and the storage period for manure.
The Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) said it welcomed the Welsh government's new announcement, as it offered 'a lifeline' for many farming businesses.
It added that some farmers had received penalties over recent months due to "errors within an overly-complex spreadsheet that do not necessarily present a pollution risk in the real world".
FUW president Ian Rickman said: “It offers a lifeline for the 800 or so farming businesses that have applied for infrastructure grant support, and the plethora of others that continue to face other challenges, such as delays in planning applications and the availability of building contractors.
"We have made it abundantly clear that challenges were clearly on the horizon for Welsh farmers who cannot comply with these regulations due to matters outside of their control, and many now find themselves in this impossible situation."
NFU Cymru added that the Welsh government's changes would help reduce the level of penalties that some farmers had received or would face as a result of the 'impractical and unworkable' nature of some elements of the regulations.
But the union said: "The fact remains that the regulations, including the closed periods for spreading have not changed, and farmers will still be deemed to be in breach of the regulations and subject to potential penalty, albeit in certain circumstances reduced."
The Welsh government intends to publish revised cross compliance verifiable standards by the end of the month.
