Dartmoor farmers warned to prepare for heavier rainfall

Farmers across Dartmoor are being urged to prepare for increasingly heavy and prolonged rainfall as part of a new warning from the Environment Agency, which highlights the growing risks of soil erosion, pollution, and flooding on farmland.

This warning comes during the Environment Agency’s Flood Action Week, running from 14 to 20 October, which encourages everyone, including those in agriculture, to understand the steps they can take to prepare for flooding. 

With the changing climate, the agency is particularly concerned about the impact of heavy rainfall on farmland in Devon and Cornwall, especially in areas with steep slopes and compacted soil.

The late harvesting of high-risk crops, such as maize, leaves fields bare and vulnerable to runoff, which can wash away valuable soil, pollute nearby watercourses, and flood roads and properties. 

The Environment Agency is advising farmers to rethink their planting strategies to reduce these risks.

James Wimpress, of the Environment Agency, said: “Farming is tough right now. A very wet year is already delaying harvest time for some farmers and making conditions for harvest very difficult. This will compound the problems winter brings. 

“The longer that harvest is delayed, the smaller the window is to plant any form of cover crop to bind the soil and reduce runoff and cultivate the ground to reduce compaction.  

“Winters are only going to get tougher with more rain for longer periods. This means more soil erosion, runoff, pollution and flooding, unless farming practices become more resilient.” 

Farmers are being advised to avoid planting high-risk crops in naturally wet fields where compaction is harder to remove, and to cultivate their soil to prevent erosion. 

Cover crops and long-term soil health improvements are also recommended to mitigate the impact of increasingly extreme weather conditions.

Dartmoor National Park Authority has responded to the Environment Agency’s warning, emphasising the critical importance of sustainable farming and climate resilience on the moor.

A spokesperson for the park told The Moorlander: “Dartmoor’s Partnership Plan sets a bold vision for how farmers are supported in ensuring future farming and forestry practice is economically viable while contributing positively to nature enhancement and tackling climate change. This wide range of work covers aspects such as supporting farmers to adopt different land management techniques, contributing to national policy for new environmental land management schemes and, through the Landscape Recovery Area projects, working with farmers and other partners to deliver outcomes with a focus on net zero, biodiversity, water quality and business resilience such as peatland restoration and Natural Flood Management. The latter delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency.

“The National Park benefits from the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project, a well-established organisation that has a proven track record in supporting the farming and land management community to ensure upland businesses remain resilient, particularly when dealing with challenging factors such as a changing climate. With the help of funding streams such as Farming in Protected Landscapes, landowners, commoners and farmers are delivering projects that support the natural environment, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide public access opportunities or support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses.”

The Dartmoor Hill Farm Project is central to supporting local farmers as they face these challenges. 

By encouraging different land management techniques and using government-funded initiatives like the Sustainable Farming Initiative, Dartmoor's farmers are being equipped with the tools and support to tackle the increasingly volatile weather.