THE National Farmers’ Union says it is ‘extremely disappointed’ by a High Court ruling that manure from Herefordshire’s many poultry farms should be treated as a waste product and disposed of as such.

The union had brought the case against Herefordshire Council over the county’s Minerals and Waste Local Plan. which came into force a year ago.

NFU vice president Rachel Hallos said: “We are extremely disappointed by the High Court’s ruling and are currently reviewing the judgment carefully to examine its potential implications for our members in Herefordshire and are considering whether to seek permission to appeal the ruling.”

She explained that it will come as a further blow to farming’s ability to invest in and improve infrastructure.

Ms Hallos added: “Britain's farmers recognise their businesses have a major role to play, alongside producing food, in improving water quality. Much progress has already been made through regulation and voluntary measures such as carefully managing how much manure and fertiliser is applied to fields.”

“With our farmers already under immense pressure due to the loss of direct payments and the impacts of the family farm tax, confidence is already at an all-time low.

“The decision will come as a further blow to farming’s ability to invest and improve on-farm infrastructure and apply for funding through government-backed schemes like the Slurry Infrastructure Grant, all of which aim to improve water quality.”

But campaign group River Action, which gave evidence to the court backing up the council’s position, hailed the judgment as having ‘huge implications for handling manure on farms everywhere’.

One consequence of the ruling is that any future planning applications for livestock units in the county will have to show that suitable processes are in place to dispose of such waste safely.