Somerset farmer fined £20,000 after slurry incident

Ben Hembrow, 36, from Somerset, applied slurry to a number of fields growing winter wheat. Heavy rain, which Hembrow claimed had not been forecast, led to slurry running off the fields and into ditches and road drains. 

Hembrow, of Huntham Farm Ltd in Stoke St Gregory, appeared in Yeovil Magistrates Court last Wednesday (October 16). He appeared before district judge Breton, and admitted two charges relating to causing slurry pollution. The company, Huntham Farm Ltd, also admitted one charge of causing a polluting discharge.

The case was bought about by the Environment Agency. An officer went to the farm on a wet Sunday in February 2022, following a report of slurry running down a road and into a surface water drain close to the farm in Stoke St Gregory, the court heard.

The officer found fields saturated in slurry and observed slurry entering nearby watercourses and ditches. While investigating, Hembrow arrived on scene, visibly shaken. He attempted to reduce the impact by blocking a ditch and used sub soiling equipment to help break up the surface of the soil and prevent further run-off.

Despite his actions the investigation later showed that over 1.5km of watercourse, as far as the confluence with the Sedgemoor Old Rhyne Site of Special Scientific Interest, had been impacted.

Hembrow claimed that the weather app he used had predicted only 1mm of rain the day after the slurry was applied. The agency’s investigation established that heavy rain had been forecast to fall on the Sunday throughout the week by numerous weather forecasters including the BBC and the app used by Hembrow. No checks on the physical condition of the soil had been made, no soil test pits to assess soil structure had been dug.

He claimed he was not in breach of regulations to prevent pollution due to measures he had taken before spreading and specifically stated that, given the weather forecast he had consulted, he did not believe the application of slurry gave rise to a risk of pollution.

Summing up, District Judge Brereton acknowledged Hembrow to be a hard-working farmer committed to modern technology and farming practices. However, she also concluded that the fine imposed should reflect that the standards of farming had fallen well below what is expected. She also referenced aggravating features, specifically that Hembrow had previously been prosecuted for offences in 2016 and 2021.

David Womack, senior environment officer for the Environment Agency said: “This pollution event was avoidable but occurred because Hembrow failed to carry out the most basic checks to assess if the land he was spreading slurry on was suitable. Previous land management had led to the fields being compacted – anything spread on the soil was therefore likely to run off, even in moderate rainfall conditions.

“He wrongly assumed risk assessments for slurry application would be done by his agronomist – but it was his responsibility to do this just prior to the slurry being applied.

“Additional weather checks would also have alerted Hembrow that wet weather was very likely to occur immediately after he chose to apply slurry. Since 2018 there have been specific laws to ensure organic manure applications are planned and that they take into account weather forecasts and soil conditions.”

Hembrow was fined £525 for failing to plan the slurry applications. Huntham Farm Ltd was fined £8,000 for causing pollution and ordered to pay the agency’s full costs of £11,564.25.