Farmers in the Midlands are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to £30,000 for on-farm improvements that will help reduce water quality issues.
Farmers are being offered financial support by Severn Trent to invest in solutions that will reduce water pollution while supporting farm productivity.
For eligible recipients, funding has doubled from £5,000 up to £10,000 across the board, the water company said.
In catchments where pesticide reduction is a priority, farmers can apply for up to £30,000 for washdown and disposal areas.
And there is also up to 75 percent funding for watercourse fencing.
Severn Trent has identified three key concerns in its priority catchments and is urging farmers to pursue funded options that prevent pesticide, nitrates or cryptosporidium reaching watercourses.
Dr Alex Cooke, principal catchment scientist at the firm said: “The match funding is available to both arable and livestock farmers, for a wide range of infrastructure and land management improvements.
“For example, we’ve seen the grants being put towards building pesticide washdown areas, covering livestock handling systems, planting cover crops and installing livestock fencing.
“We hope that this added flexibility will encourage more famers to work with us and apply for grants before 31 January 2023.”
Severn Trent’s Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS) closes for applications on 31 January 2023.
