While animals are inside for the winter, slurry tanks are used to collect their waste – however, as rainwater on farms also flows into the tanks many are filling up faster than usual.
As a result, St Martin dairy farmer Tom Perchard says they have had no choice but to spread slurry on the fields – something they would only normally do in dry conditions to avoid a risk of run-off polluting streams and water supplies.
The slurry-spreading comes after a particularly wet start to the year, with a record amount of rainfall in January, while more than the average rain for February has also fallen already this month.
