A Natural Resources Wales project aiming to reduce agricultural pollution has visited over 800 dairy farms in Wales.
Officers from NRW have been carrying out pollution control visits across Wales offering advice to farmers, helping ensure they are compliant with pollution legislation.
The project was set up three years ago with the aim of helping reduce agricultural pollution in Wales.
It has visited 824 farms to date. During Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, officers called 309 farms to follow up on progress, 242 of those visited have completed what was required.
Meanwhile, 131 farms have also been re-visited following the reduction in coronavirus restrictions, allowing face to face meeting outside.
Farm improvements include increasing slurry storage capacity and achieving reductions in livestock nitrogen loading to land.
Chris Thomas, dairy project coordinator, of NRW said: “Our dairy farm visits are quite often looked upon as something to be feared by farmers.
But the visits are about us giving advice, guidance and helping farmers identify ways in which they can make positive changes on their farms, which doesn’t always mean having to spend a lot of money.
He added: “I visited a farm in mid Wales recently and after a tour, we were able to identify changes that could be made to make sure the farmer had an appropriate amount of slurry storage without the need for construction of a new or extended slurry or silage storage.
“The Dairy Project is part of a multi-agency approach to working with farmers to eliminate agricultural pollution and we work closely with our partners through the Wales."