The food sector relies on healthy, functioning river systems – and in the Wye and Usk catchments, that system is under strain. Solving the problem requires action from a broad range of crop and livestock sectors, but with the contribution of poultry to the excess nutrient and manure load well known and well documented, businesses and retailers have been under scrutiny and under pressure to demonstrate what actions they are taking to reduce risk to river health.
Supported by the Water Roadmap’s Collective Action Project in the Wye and Usk, businesses, regulators, and local partners are taking informed action to reduce nutrient pollution from poultry farms, improve river health, and strengthen supply chain resilience.
Problem
Solution
Impact
Problem
The Rivers Wye and Usk flow through busy food-producing areas but are experiencing ecological decline. More frequent flooding and droughts, sediment build-up, acidification, algal blooms and invasive species have put both rivers, which include designated Special Areas of Conservation, into an ‘unfavourable’ or ‘unfavourable-declining’ condition.
The poultry industry is well established here with an estimated 22 million poultry birds at any one time. Combined with a thriving cattle and sheep sector, excess phosphorus from manure led to significant nutrient surpluses (around 2,300 tonnes phosphorus annually), driving river health deterioration. This posed reputational and operational risks for the food sector, putting farmers, processors, and retailers under public and media scrutiny.
Solution
With support from retailers, the Wye and Usk Foundation (WUF) partnered with key egg packing and poultry businesses to implement action plans across the catchments. Key actions included:
- Exporting manure outside of the catchments for processing and sustainable use in areas that have nutrient deficiency, reducing the surplus in the Wye and Usk
- Using a portal to track movements and destinations of manures, providing end-to-end traceability
- Providing advice and funding to help producers make changes to reduce pollution risk from manure handling areas, drainage and ranges
- Creating a Poultry Sector Group, encouraging other businesses to participate in actions to address challenges from the sector, with a particular focus on manure and nutrient loads.
Impact
By exporting manure, phosphorus surplus has already reduced by 500 tonnes and provided a blueprint for other businesses to do the same – preventing pollution from these surplus nutrients from entering the rivers.
8 free-range egg producers have received support to build nutrient balance and management plans, with 3 accessing a government grant for infrastructure improvements and 2 receiving private finance to build wetlands that naturally intercept nutrient run-off before it reaches the rivers.
One free-range egg producer has already gone on to address every risk identified, reseeding and planting buffers on his range and investing in infrastructure and drainage improvements. The producer said, “With the support provided through the project, I have been able to invest in improvements that have made it easier to manage my site and has benefitted me, my hens and the environment.”
The Poultry Sector Group now includes 5 poultry companies, 2 industry bodies, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales. The group is supporting catchment modelling by providing accurate industry data, engaging with DEFRA on grant funding for further infrastructure support and working with regulators to develop guidance on design and management of free-range poultry sites which will address pollution risks and make the sector more resilient.
This project has enabled us to bring together poultry businesses and regulators, to achieve recognition of the challenges that need to be addressed, and to agree positive actions. The actions taken to reduce the manure and nutrient load from the poultry sector in the Wye and Usk catchment are reducing risk and improving resilience of the supply chain here but importantly the lessons learnt and the actions being taken will have an impact beyond the catchment boundary. We are so very grateful for the opportunity that this project provides and the support that we receive from WRAP and our funders.
The Wye & Usk Foundation