Working with Wet Weather

It’s predicted that our winters are going to become warmer and wetter, with an increased risk of ‘extreme weather events’. With winter upon us, now could be a good time to take a look at how prepared your farm business is for wetter conditions, and if there is anything else you could do to minimise risk.

Flooding can happen quickly and take time to disperse, resulting in damage and disruption to the farm business. This could include structural damage to fences, roads and buildings, to loss of crops and forage for livestock, all of which will bring inconvenience, not to mention cost.

We can’t control the weather, but there are things you can do to reduce the risk of damage and disruption from wet weather and flooding to your business.
Consider:

• A flood management plan – FAS Specialist advice funding could fund a specialist to help you put a plan together to identify short, medium and longer term actions to make your business more resilient in the face of a changing climate.
• Various natural flood management techniques – these could reduce the impact or severity of flood damage on your land.
• Sign up to SEPA Floodline – get advance notification of flooding risk in your area.

We’ve put together some helpful resources, including links to support, videos and practical guides reflecting other farmers experiences on the FAS Responding to Wet Weather page. It could be worth taking a look now; don’t put it off for a rainy day!

Rebecca Audsley, SAC Consulting