Farmers, agronomists and operators need to know where their land drains to, if they want to continue to use pesticides to control weeds and slugs in winter cereals and oilseed rape, advises the Voluntary Initiative.
“Oilseed rape herbicides and metaldehyde slug pellets are regularly detected in drinking water sources at levels which require extra treatment by water companies. Not every field drains to a drinking water source but pesticide use in those that do really matters,” explains the VI’s Patrick Goldsworthy.
“The first step for farmers and growers is to find out whether any of the land they manage is in a Drinking Water Safeguard Zone and if there are any pesticide issues in that Safeguard Zone. The best way to do this is to visit the EA’s What’s in Your Backyard website (visit here) and do a post code search for their land. If the farm is in a Safeguard Zone and there are concerns about pesticide issues then they should discuss with their agronomist what they can do to help reduce the risk of any pesticides they use reaching water, be that surface or ground water.”
Defra is considering additional measures to ensure that the UK can meet its commitments under the Water Framework Directive. A consultation on these measures which could include local restrictions on pesticide use is expected in early 2016
The Voluntary Initiative is a programme of measures which promotes responsible pesticide use. It is sponsored by the Agricultural Engineers Association, Agricultural Industries Confederation, Country Land and Business Association, Crop Protection Association, National Association of Agricultural Contractors, the NFU, NFU Scotland and the Ulster Farmers Union.
