9.6 million chickens. many believe this rapid expansion is causing pollution in the wye. but with poor water quality monitoring across the uk, there is currently no evidence of a direct link. hi, how you doing? scientists here approach the problem from a different angle, looking at how much muck is being produced in the wye catchment. where you have these high areas of intensive livestock production, you end up with too much phosphorus available in the manure there to go on to the land. they estimate that around 7,500 tonnes of phosphorus gets into the soil around the river wye every year. much of that by spreading
i knew that i would want to do, which is why i m still here now and i m wanting to carry on the farm. gemma works on herfamily farm next to one of the rivers that feeds into the wye. along with her dad they raise cows, sheep and chickens. feeding them keeps gwyn busy, as does dealing with a mountain of manure. that muck is gathered underneath this barn. so what happens to it then? some of the manure is collected and they are, but there s always a bit of runoff. where does it go? see the trench there? down that trench there, down through the grid there. there is a manhole there. it holds about 3000 gallons. you see that muck floating on the top of the water? in a month or six weeks, that ll run in. this muck is full of phosphates, vital for growing the crops we need. it goes by tanker, but it s
as our demand for cheap food has grown, farming production has intensified. and that has led to a growing mountain of muck. i mjemma price, i m 22 and i have lived on this farm all my life. me and my sisters would always help with the jobs, even when we were younger, we would always be amongst it. it s always been something that i knew that i would want to do, which is why i m still here now and i m wanting to carry on the farm. gemma works on herfamily farm next to one of the rivers that feeds into the wye, along with her dad they raise cows, sheep and chickens. feeding them keeps gwen busy as does dealing with a mountain of manure.
fundamentally, if you have a surplus, you are too much phosphorus in your environment, it is likely that you are going to have worse water quality. the data shows quite clearly, there are parts of the catchment where soil phosphorus levels are very high, if not a little bit too high. so those areas do not need phosphorus at the moment. they do not need muck spreading? no, they don t need muck or fertiliser or any phosphorus input. scientists here are clear, to start fixing the problem muck spreading should be stopped completely in some parts of the wye. there s a lot of algae. ew, you don t have to go in, it s all slimy. for those who get out on the river regularly, the current state of the wye is having a real impact. ew.
when there s so many rules and regulations governing how farmers like them can safely use it. we are just down the valley from the price s farm. which runs eventually into the river wye itself. we tested the water here for phosphates, and as expected, phosphate levels are very low. but further down river, they are too high. and that s putting wildlife at risk. 0tters have thrived in parts of the wye, along with other many rare species. it s one of the most protected rivers in britain because of this rich wildlife. all of our rivers in wales