The importance of resilience within any water catchment area has been identified as of great importance to the Environment Agency, the relevant River Trusts and to local farmers and growers.
Key within the creation of the highest levels of resilience is to work with farmers to create and implement best practices covering aspects of irrigation such as water usage, run-off reduction, and water storage whilst taking into account environmental impact considerations.
The Environment Agency has identified drip irrigation as providing the most effective use of water whilst maintaining crop yields and quality.
Netafim UK have been asked to work on a collaborative farm demonstration project that would employ drip irrigation to provide fully optimised water use and also to highlight the associated environmental benefits brought by this precision methodology. It is seen that the irrigation technology offered by Netafim can bring real benefits in assisting growers to implement best practices to optimise valuable water resources.
The demonstration is taking place courtesy of Wright Farm Produce at Scarisbrick, Lancashire where both drip and boom irrigation is used allowing a dynamic and real comparison of the water use and environmental impacts of the two methods on the same crop, in this case celery.
Wright Farm Produce, the Environment Agency and Netafim UK provided drip irrigation equipment for the project including the latest Netafim filtration and control technology, plus water meters, driplines and header pipes.
Two adjacent areas of the farm have been selected, one that will use drip irrigation and another using boom irrigation.
The Environment Agency are monitoring run-off water quality with Netafim UK looking at soil moisture content. This is an extremely important aspect of Catchment Area management assessment.
Netafim UK will carry out frequent monitoring of water use and crop growth throughout the growing season to allow a full agronomic assessment of the two irrigation techniques.
is the leading provider of irrigation solutions in the country, providing products, services and support to a wide range of farmers, growers, and sports and landscape professionals. Operating from the office and warehouse facility in Lancashire, the company is particularly well placed to provide the highest level of expertise, support and system performance monitoring for this important project.
is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The organisation was established in 1996 to protect and improve the environment in England (and until 2013 also Wales).
The EA works to create better places for people and wildlife, and support sustainable development. It has offices across England, divided into 14 areas including Cumbria and Lancashire (C&L) and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire (GMMC). One of the EA’s key priorities is to work collaboratively with local organisations to deliver cross cutting benefits for the environment
is a charity working in partnership with all those interested in improving its local rivers and waterways.
The Trust began in 1985 with the aim to clean up the entire Mersey River System. It covers a large area of the North West River Basin District including the rivers Alt, Crossens, Irwell, Tame, Goyt, Bollin, Weaver amongst others.
Its core objective is the preservation, restoration and development of urban and rural waterways and their environs for the benefit of the public.
