Low flows, low profit...

The Environment Agency has warned that the north and west of the UK could reach full drought status by the end of June, due to recent high temperatures and five months of below average rainfall. Some places have been receiving as little as 13% of long-term average rainfall.

At home in Antrim, a very dry spring is hitting our business in two ways. Low flows mean low profits for our 450kw hydro scheme on the River Maine, and our five-acre field of strawberries and soft fruit (for pick-your-own) is rapidly gaining dust bowl credentials, so our 2010 crop is looking increasingly poor. For me, it highlights how dependent our family income is on the services of nature.

Conservation groups such as the WWF continue to argue for a review of long-standing farm abstraction licenses, which they claim no longer match local water resource availability. However this trade off between abstraction for irrigation of crops (particularly in light of recent concerns over food security) and maintaining healthy river flows to support vital ecosystem services is increasingly complex.

The economic case for tackling climate change was clearly made in the Stern Report in 2007 and the issue of food security is fast gaining political momentum, but what about protecting ecosystem services?

The recent UN report ‘The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity’ seeks to redress the balance and argues that the ratio of the costs of taking action to protect biodiversity compared to the benefits of doing so ranges from 1:10 to 1:100. The cost-benefit that the Stern Report identified on the economics of action on climate change was more like 1:5 to 1:20.

But at farm level, the reality is stark: abstract and irrigate now, protect your crop and get your return on investment for the year, or protect healthy river flows and be comfortable with the fact that you are supporting a healthy environment and the ecosystem services on which your business ultimately depends?

There are no easy answers, but this dry period does offer us a chance to consider the way we do business and highlight how micro-level farm management decisions impact on macro-scale ecosystems. And being water efficient will help you to cushion your business against these kinds of conditions.

Get in touch if you’re experiencing some of these issues, and if you’re trying out new ways of managing them. Contact us here.

Will Frazer is the Research and Information Officer for the Farming Futures project.

For more information on water, take a look at our water management factsheet, read how farmers in the East are working together to be more water efficient, watch our video case study on rainwater harvesting or check presentations from past events.