Poor soil health is increasing risk of flooding on Yorkshire farms, report finds
Declining soil health is impacting Yorkshire farmers not only with reduced yields but also increasing the flood risk, a new report has found.
Research from the Save Soil movement found that soil health plays a vital role in managing excess water and reducing flood risk across the country.
This is vital in the region, in particular with upland farmers in the Yorkshire Dales, where the ground is hugely important in absorbing rainfall and preventing flooding.
It comes after England’s wettest 18-month period on record from October 2022 to March 2024, which saw farming disrupted and harvests devastated.
The report revealed that 61 per cent of soils across Europe - including in the UK - are unhealthy, diminishing their capacity to absorb rainfall.
The campaigners explained how there is an “interdependence of soil health and flood resilience”.
Healthy soil acts as a natural sponge, absorbing and storing excess rainfall, preventing surface runoff and subsequent flooding.
Whereas, Save Soil’s analysis found that degraded or compacted soils lead directly to increased surface runoff during heavy rain, significantly exacerbating flooding.
This is a particular issue in Yorkshire, as floods devastated parts of the county earlier this year as a wave of storms battered the UK.
Battyeford Sporting Club house in Mirfield was one of the community hubs which was almost completely destroyed.
In 2023, hundreds of acres of farmland in East Yorkshire were left underwater for months after deluges, damaging swathes of crops.
Farmers told The Yorkshire Post the incidents were impacting their mental health, as well as their agricultural businesses.
Save Soil has urged the Government to assist farmers to improve their soil health, to protect water and food security.
"Yorkshire’s farmers are increasingly facing the consequences of declining soil health — not just in reduced yields, but in how their land copes with extreme weather,” Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer of Save Soil.
“Healthy soils in this region, particularly on upland farms and in river catchments, play a vital role in absorbing and retaining rainfall.
“When that soil becomes compacted or depleted of organic matter, its ability to hold water drops sharply.
“For many farmers here, soil degradation is turning productive land into a flood risk zone.
“Restoring soil structure and function is now essential not just for agriculture, but for the wider resilience of rural Yorkshire.”
The £2.6bn of funding included £7m going towards the latest phase of the Stallingborough Sea Defences along the Humber estuary.
Conisbrough, near Doncaster, and Appleton, in North Yorkshire, will also get funding as part of the announcement.