Industry experts gather to address water concerns
31st July 2025
Secretary of State Steve Reed was among more than sixty attendees at the event, which aimed to address the significant challenges that continue to impact farmers’ ability to produce food for the nation — particularly the critical issues of water quality and availability.
The NFU has held a multi-agency Water Summit, which was attended by industry experts, water companies, environmental NGOs, and supply chain representatives, who gathered to discuss ongoing concerns.
The union said that the summit provided a platform for constructive discussions on the challenges of water pollution, climate change and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, the evolving regulatory financial pressures, and lack of critical investment in water infrastructure, all within the context of the impacts on national food security.
NFU vice president Rachel Hallos, who hosted the event on her farm in West Yorkshire, said: “Water is our most precious resource. It’s absolutely vital to producing the food our country needs.
“But we’re facing increasing pressures on water, be it resources, flooding, or quality. Whether it’s from vital nutrients that we use to grow food impacting water quality in rivers, often from agricultural runoff, or the cycle of drought and floods leading to poor harvests, it all undermines the stability and resilience of our farming businesses and ultimately impacts our food security.
“The knock-on effect is clearly highlighted in a survey of NFU members, which reveals nearly two-thirds have experienced a severe weather event in the past 10 years that has affected their farming business in some way.”
Ms Hallos added that now is the time to start having open and honest conversations and treating water as a “national strategic priority”. “For our part, that means rolling our sleeves up, taking the initiative, and tackling these challenges head-on.
“At the NFU, we have made actionable pledges² for farmers to implement on the ground, and we will work in partnership with the industry to do what we can. But we cannot do it alone. We need everyone to start thinking about what we can each individually and collectively do and what will make a real difference,” she continued.
Urgent need for water infrastructure investment
During the event, three breakout sessions were held looking at issues of investment, innovation, and circular economy.
An overriding message from attendees was the need for urgent investment in water infrastructure—as well as access to robust data and better planning systems that support necessary infrastructure improvements on farms for slurry storage and reservoirs.
Secretary of state Steve Reed promised to look at further actions within the updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) that will help farmers reduce water pollution.
Ms Hallos concluded: “This week’s summit was just the start. These conversations must continue so we have a joined-up approach that allows us to collaborate better with government, local authorities, environmental NGOs, the supply chain, and water companies and ensures farmers have access to a clean supply of water to produce sustainable food the for the nation and prioritises UK food security as national security.”
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