As part of their Get River Positive commitments to protect rivers and the environment, water companies Severn Trent and Anglian Water have launched a new support package to encourage regenerative farming practices.

It aims to encourage and support farmers with environmentally friendly farming practices and has the potential to reduce agricultural carbon emissions by at least 20%.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent CEO, said:

“We’re passionate about making a positive impact on the communities and the environment where we live and work. We’re investing £100 millon a year as part of our Get River Positive commitments to go even further in improving rivers so that nature can continue to thrive. One of our five Get River Positive pledges is to ‘Support others to improve and care for rivers’. Agriculture and land management are the biggest contributors to rivers not achieving good ecological status, so we are redoubling our efforts to help farmers to care for rivers.”

The new funding opportunity has the potential to enhance over 62,000ha of land across Severn Trent’s region and over 10,000ha across Anglian Water’s region through the four programmes included in the package. Funding for investments to improve water quality, tree planting and provision of green financing will be made available to incentivise regenerative farming practices.

Peter Simpson, Anglian Water CEO, said:

“Farming has a big impact on water quality, and like us, farmers need healthy rivers and a sustainable supply to help manage their land and businesses. This is especially true in our region, the breadbasket of the UK. The East of England’s Fens alone have more than half the UK’s most fertile land, with agriculture providing a fifth of the nation’s crops and a third of its vegetables.

“Our hugely successful Slug it Out programme helped us develop trusted and proactive relationships with farmers across our region. This is the next stage in that collaborative partnership, supporting a vital sector to help them make the right choices for their businesses and the environment, unlocking access to funding, while protecting the valuable commodity we all rely on."

Looking to reach as many farmers as possible across their regions, the companies are confident the package will be attractive to farmers and landowners.

Match-funding infrastructural investments

For farmers and landowners in Severn Trent regions, the new package will include increased match-funding, of up to £30,000, for items that help protect water quality as part of the company’s flagship Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS) which is aimed at the c.9,000 farmers in the region who have farm or land in a priority catchment in the Severn Trent region.

Anglian Water will launch the second year of its Farming Innovation Grant later this year. The grant is matched funded and specifically aimed at supporting and developing new and innovative solutions towards low carbon and regenerative farming in key priority catchments across the Anglian Water region. Last year the fund supported 19 projects, delivering over £250,000 of benefit across the region.

Hassle free tree planting

Following on from the Commonwealth Forest offer, Severn Trent will now offer the Trees for Water scheme for all farmers and landowners in the region, tying into forthcoming farm legislative requirements. The scheme will fully fund trees, planting and maintenance for 35 years, offering annual bonus payments for eligible sites. After the initial 35-year period, landowners will have the ability to keep or sell the residual carbon credits, making the offering an ideal hassle and cost-free investment for those looking to leave a legacy to their successors.

Partnership offers

To support further investment in regenerative farming practices, both companies have built in two partnership offers. The first partnership with Agreena will help farmers transition to regenerative practices. The second partnership is an ambition to work with NatWest to give farmers in its catchment access to ‘green loans’ for investment in sustainable farming options.

Click here for more information about Get River Positive