Reservoir investment brings long-term water security to Euston Estate

Of all the changeability which East Anglian farmers must cope with, there is one uncontrollable variable which has always dictated success or failure – the weather.

And nowhere is that more true than on the dry, sandy soils of Breckland, where the availability of water from rain and rivers is of paramount importance in growing the standard of crops demanded by major retailers.

With future climate change predicted to bring more potentially-damaging dry summers but wetter winters, the obvious long-term solution is to store water in times of plenty to use in times of drought – but it is an expensive business.

At the 10,500-acre Euston Estate, which straddles the Norfolk / Suffolk border, crops are currently being planted which will be the first to benefit from a 70 million gallon new reservoir, costing £400,000.

The clay-lined reservoir is the second to be built at the estate, following a £1.2m investment in 2006 to create 100 million gallons of storage – but even that resource is stretched to its limit during the driest periods.

The new development was completed at Christmas and filled during the winter, so the water is now available for irrigating crops including the potatoes and vegetables grown in partnership with RG Abrey Farms, based nearby at East Wretham.

An ever-expanding network of pipes now covers an area which stretches eight miles across, expanding the team's commercial capacity, and future-proofing themselves against the vagaries of the climate.

Euston Estate's farm manager Matthew Hawthorne said the decision to build the second reservoir was taken two years ago, following the formation of the partnership with RG Abrey in 2011.

'It had to evolve,' he said. 'We dug one reservoir, and the network of pipes fed an area of land that was capable of growing a crop that would empty the reservoir.

'As the main network evolved, more and more areas were brought into the vegetable rotation, and we needed to have more water available. Now, with RG Abrey we can do 536 hectares of vegetables.

'We needed pipeline infrastructure, we needed a customer and with a big portfolio of vegetables, then we needed another water supply.

'We probably had enough to satisfy all of Abrey's water needs, but that is reliant on having a wet winter. When we get to the end of summer, the reservoir is empty and we need a wet winter to recharge it. We need to be ready for a hot dry summer followed by a dryish winter.

'The new reservoir gives these boys the confidence to stay here and keep growing vegetables. It is a big asset and it gives us an advantage, especially having a great vegetable grower just up the road.'

The second reservoir is about a mile from the original one, and both are fed with licensed winter abstraction from the River Blackbourne, which runs through the middle of the estate, and the Little Ouse, which runs along the northern boundary.

Giles Abrey, one of the partners at RG Abrey Farms, said the need for water is a crucial factor in determining the quality of the crop – and therefore its marketability to major retailers with their high standards.

'A lot of vegetable crops are grown on lighter soils to produce a quality, uniform crop and to facilitate planting and harvesting,' he said.

'We sell to most of the supermarkets, and they all have variations in their specifications, but there is a lot less variation in the quality standard. Historically, the bandwidth on quality was much larger, utilising more of the crop.

'Everyone is looking for the highest quality, but at a low price which increases the risk to the grower.

'Irrigation throughout the season is essential to produce the quality crops required by our customers at economic yields. In a dry season a water shortage even late on could lead to complete crop failure.

'The taste and health benefits of a lot of vegetables, especially potatoes, have been hugely under-promoted, and unfortunately the consumer has been educated that it must look perfect to be perfect.'

Water: A political issue

The security of water resources, and proposed reforms to the abstraction licence system, will be one of the key points raised by farmers' leaders with the new government following next month's General Election.

The National Farmers' Union's (NFU's) national water resources specialist Paul Hammett said: 'Food security and water security go hand in hand – it's absolutely vital that farmers have access to water to grow our food.

'One of our key manifesto asks for the next government is to make it easier for farmers to build additional on-farm water storage by providing financial support and tax incentives, and also by reducing red tape for reservoir applications.

'Farmers have to be able to capture more water when it is plentiful to use on farm at times of scarcity.

'Another priority is to ensure that the forthcoming reform of the abstraction licensing regime delivers a fair share of water for agriculture and horticulture.

'A critical issue facing licence holders will be the transition process from the existing regime to the new system. They need to know which terms and conditions contained in existing licences will be preserved, and what rights will be changed or even lost.

'Other questions include whether or not the changes will apply to all licences and in all catchments and how much current annual volume will be transferred to the new 'permissions' that will replace existing abstraction licences.'

A busy time for Euston Estate

The last few weeks has been a busy period for the Euston Estate's seasonal farming operations.

Specialised equipment has been creating the perfect seed beds for potatoes, with stones removed from ridges so they are not able to affect the shape of the crop in the ground, and so they won't damage the crop at harvest or end up in store.

While de-stoning and planting operations for potatoes are likely to continue for another four weeks, the drilling of sugar beet seeds was completed on Wednesday.

This year, 213 hectares of the crop were planted – a 9pc cut from last year, agreed within the estate's contract with British Sugar, following the over-supply from 2014's bumper crop.

An estimated 110,000 seeds have been planted per hectare, each enclosed in a clay casing including the nutrients and insecticides needed for growth – which should yield about 70 tonnes of beet per hectare.

Farm manager Matthew Hawthorne said good progress had been made with the drilling operations – although he does have some concerns about the colder-than-average weather.

He said: 'The wind in the last three or four days is OK, but I'm getting slightly concerned about the temperatures. Night-time temperatures are still getting down to one or two degrees, and really at this time of year you want them to be four or five at night, and 10 degrees in the day.

'Average soil temperature is still low, and that will slow up emergence – but hopefully that will change over the Easter weekend.'