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Research and analysis

Agriculture and rural land management: challenges for the water environment

Impacts of farming on the environment and mechanisms for improvement, plus future challenges and approaches.

Updates to this page

From:
Environment Agency
Published:
22 October 2021
Last updated:
25 August 2026
Show all updates

  1. The following sections of the agriculture and rural land management: challenges for the water environment report have been updated: 2.1.6 Sediment from soil runoff and erosion, 3.3.3 Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, 3.3.4 Landscape Recovery , and 5.2 Policies to protect soil.

  2. Corrected the number of farm inspections in section 3.1: 'Between April 2022 and March 2025, Environment Agency officers carried out 12,805 inspections of non-permitted farms'. In figure 6, the number of inspections for 2024 to 2025 has been amended to 4,540.

  3. Replaced the report with 'Agriculture in England: significant water management issues'.

  4. Added an attachment: 'Water quality: what 3 future environmental land management schemes can achieve by 2027'. Updated the 'challenges' document to link to this.

  5. First published.

Applies to England

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Agriculture and rural land management: challenges for the water environment

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Water quality: what 3 future environmental land management schemes can achieve by 2027

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Details

This report describes:

  • the range of pressures caused by farming and their impacts on the water environment
  • improvement mechanisms
  • measures to control the sources and impacts
  • future challenges and proposed approaches

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