title: Tackling agricultural diffuse pollution: What might uptake of farmer-preferred measures deliver for emissions to water and air?
abstract: Mitigation of agricultural diffuse pollution poses a significant policy challenge across Europe and particularly in the UK. Existing combined regulatory and voluntary approaches applied in the UK continue to fail to deliver the necessary environmental outcomes for a variety of reasons including failure to achieve high adoption rates. It is therefore logical to identify specific on-farm mitigation measures towards which farmers express positive attitudes for higher future uptake rates. Accordingly, a farmer attitudinal survey was undertaken during phase one of the Demonstration Test Catchment programme in England to understand those measures towards which surveyed farmers are most receptive to increasing implementation in the future. A total of 29 on-farm measures were shortlisted by this baseline farm survey. This shortlist comprised many low cost or cost-neutral measures suggesting that costs continue to represent a principal selection criterion for many farmers. The 29 measures were mapped onto relevant major farm types and input, assuming 95% uptake, to a national scale multi-pollutant modelling framework to predict the technically feasible impact on annual agricultural emissions to water and air, relative to business as usual. Simulated median emission reductions, relative to current practise, for water management catchments across England and Wales, were estimated to be in the order sediment (20%)>ammonia (16%)>total phosphorus (15%) ≫ nitrate/methane (11%)>nitrous oxide (7%). The corresponding median annual total cost of the modelled scenario to farmers was £3 ha(-1)yr(-1), with a corresponding range of -£84 ha(-1)yr(-1) (i.e. a net saving) to £33 ha(-1)yr(-1). The results suggest that those mitigation measures which surveyed farmers are most inclined to implement in the future would improve the environmental performance of agriculture in England and Wales at minimum to low cost per hectare.
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Department, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK. Electronic address: adrian.collins@rothamsted.ac.uk.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Department, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, Okehampton EX20 2SB, UK.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4SB, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4SB, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inman
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Road, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Johnes
authors.affiliation: Eden Rivers Trust, Newton Rigg College, Newton Rigg, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 0AH, UK.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cleasby
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vrain
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lovett
authors.affiliation: Farm Systems and Environment Ltd, Low Road, Wortwell, Norfolk IP20 0HJ, UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Noble
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D004739:England; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000067565:Farmers; D009566:Nitrates / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D009566:Nitrates; D014873:Water Pollutants; D010758:Phosphorus
keywords: Agricultural pollution; Farmer attitudes; Mitigation; Multi-pollutant modelling; Uncertainty