Dearne Valley Farmers adopt Natural Flood Management

In this blog we hear from DCRT Agricultural Officer, Jenny Palmer, on how farmers in the catchment are delivering natural flood management schemes…

The Yorkshire Water funded Dearne Valley Farmers cluster group project has enabled DCRT and our delivery partners to provide training on sustainable farming to members of the group. Resource (soil and water) protection and management are increasingly important aspects of farm management.  Through the project’s programme of events, we’ve learnt about soil health, water quality/ quantity and natural flood management.

• There is a direct link between soil health and water – healthier soil with a higher soil organic matter has a higher water holding capacity and increased infiltration rate.  Evidence suggests that for every 1 per cent increase in organic matter results in as much as 25,000 gallons of available water per acre. 
• Soil structure also influences water movement. When soil becomes compacted by machinery and livestock, it leads to a reduction in porosity and a loss of structure, resulting in slower infiltration and higher runoff and risk of flooding. 
• A healthy and diverse soil biological community will give more effective and resilient regulation of soil function (AHDB, 2024).

Red poll cattle graze a mixed species herbal ley at Tyers Hall Farm, Barnsley.

Farmers in the cluster group are working to increase soil organic matter and improve soil structure by introducing regenerative agricultural principles and practices into their systems; this includes: livestock integration, minimising soil disturbance, protecting the soil surface, increased diversity and maintaining living roots.  Last year, establishing legume and herb-rich leys was a particularly popular land management option.  Mixed species herbal ley involves using diverse and deep-rooting species to enhance soil structure and increase water infiltration capacity. Through planting a greater diversity of plant and grass species, soil can be enhanced with greater amounts of carbon, soil organic matter and a reduced bulk density (compaction), leading to greater water storage potential and a reduction in overall overland water flow (Atkins, 2021).

A trailed grassland aerator, that will be made available to cluster members as part of the new machinery sharing scheme.

Soil compaction can also be remediated mechanically through the use of agricultural equipment such as grassland aerators and sward lifters.  The Yorkshire Flood and Coastal Committee has provided funding to the Dearne Valley Farmers cluster group, to launch and run a five-year pilot grassland aerator machinery sharing scheme.  The project is provisionally scheduled to commence in Spring 2024 and will include soil health monitoring.  In its inaugural year, four farmers have joined the scheme and plan to aerate over 200 hectares of grassland in the catchment.