What is Catchment Sensitive Farming?
Often shortened to CSF, this is a free advisory service for farmers in England focused on one clear objective: keeping soil, nutrients and pesticides where they belong. Delivered by Natural England in partnership with the Environment Agency and Defra, it provides local, on-the-ground guidance rather than generic policy summaries.
The emphasis is practical. Advisers work catchment by catchment, so conversations are shaped by the rivers, soils and cropping systems in your area. Instead of telling you what you already know, they look at where value might be slipping away – a yard that mixes clean and dirty water, a gateway that repeatedly cuts up, a drainage issue that increases sediment loss – and help you plan realistic improvements.
Support can include nutrient management planning, slurry and manure storage advice, clean and dirty water separation, buffer strips, cover crops, tramline management and yard drainage fixes. Crucially, advisers also guide farmers through Capital Grants and other Environmental Land Management options. The service is voluntary, confidential and free, which makes it a sensible first step if you are considering infrastructure changes.
Why CSF deserves your attention
Most farms do not set out to pollute watercourses, yet small inefficiencies add up. Rainfall flowing across a yard, slurry diluted by roof water, sediment washing from compacted areas – these are routine pressures rather than dramatic incidents. Over time, however, they affect both margins and compliance risk.
Working with CSF is often about tightening up these everyday details. Separating clean roof water from dirty yard runoff can reduce slurry volumes. Improving storage and containment can prevent costly spill events. Better soil structure improves trafficability in wet seasons and moisture retention in dry ones. These are not abstract environmental gains; they are operational improvements that support productivity.
There is also the regulatory backdrop. Requirements linked to water protection and nutrient management continue to evolve. Engaging with a CSF adviser helps ensure that improvements are aligned with current expectations and documented appropriately. For many farms, that peace of mind is as valuable as the financial savings.
How Tanks-UK supports CSF priorities
A significant proportion of Catchment Sensitive Farming advice centres on water management. At Tanks-UK, we offer a range of solutions that can help you manage water more effectively on your farm.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting systems and above-ground storage tanks can play a straightforward but effective role. By capturing clean roof water and storing it separately, farms reduce the volume entering slurry systems and limit unnecessary contamination. This directly supports the CSF principle of keeping clean water clean and managing dirty water properly. Fitted with appropriate filtration, rainwater systems can reduce the amount of contaminants escaping into the environment.
Livestock Watering
Livestock watering bowsers can support the objective of preventing to need for livestock to have direct access to streams and ditches. Providing reliable alternative drinking sources helps limit bank erosion, sediment loss and nutrient input into these watercourses.
Irrigation
Where irrigation is part of the system, properly specified static tanks and water bowsers can support CSF objectives by making better use of captured rainfall and stored water. Instead of abstracting from watercourses at sensitive times or relying solely on mains supply, farms can store roof water or winter-filled reserves in above-ground tanks for controlled use during the growing season. Mobile bowsers allow water to be delivered precisely where it is needed, reducing over-application and limiting runoff risk. In catchments where summer abstraction pressure is high, having on-farm storage capacity strengthens both compliance and resilience.
What is eligible for funding?
Across all of these solutions, funding eligibility depends on the live scheme rules rather than the general environmental logic. Whether the project involves rainwater capture, irrigation storage or livestock watering infrastructure, products must match the technical specification of the relevant Capital Grant or funding round. Early engagement with a CSF adviser helps ensure that the chosen solution aligns with catchment priorities and meets the published criteria before any order is placed.Capital Grants and the Role of CSF Approval
It’s important to understand that Catchment Sensitive Farming is not itself the funding pot. Instead, it often acts as an advisory and endorsement route alongside schemes such as Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants.
Certain water and air quality items may require CSF adviser approval before an application can proceed. For example, previous grant rounds have included defined items for rainwater goods and above-ground tanks, subject to targeting and technical criteria. Where a proposed project meets those specifications and fits local catchment priorities, there is a structured pathway to part funding.
The process can appear complex at first glance. That is why workshop support and one-to-one advice make a difference. Getting the evidence, mapping and sequencing right at the start reduces the risk of delays or rejected claims later.
North Anglia CSF Workshops – February and March 2026
To support farmers considering Capital Grants in 2026, the North Anglia CSF team is holding two workshops titled “From Application to Approval: Your Guide to Capital Grants”.
The first session takes place at Dennington Village Hall and Sports Club on Tuesday, 24 February 2026. The second will be held at Garvestone and Thuxton Village Hall on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.
These workshops are designed to take farmers through the full journey, from starting an application and gathering evidence to using online mapping tools, submitting forms correctly and making a capital claim. Local case studies will demonstrate how well-planned investments can deliver measurable environmental improvements while strengthening the farm business.
For those exploring rainwater harvesting, improved storage or yard management upgrades, attending provides an opportunity to test plans against both catchment priorities and current Capital Grant requirements.
Tickets for both events are free, subject to availability. Both events run from 9:30 am until 2:00 pm.
Click on one of these links to secure your place:
- Dennington Village Hall and Sports Club, Tuesday, 24 February 2026
- Garvestone & Thuxton Village Hall, Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Other CSF Teams across England
If you are outside Norfolk and Suffolk, you can contact your regional CSF team directly. At the time of writing, regional email contacts are as follows. General telephone enquiries can be made via Natural England on 0300 060 3900, who can direct you to the appropriate regional adviser.
Devon and Cornwall CSF Team (csf.devoncornwall@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Devon, Cornwall
East Midlands CSF Team (csf.eastmidlands@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire
Humber CSF Team (csf.humber@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire
North Anglia CSF Team (csf.northanglia@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Norfolk, Suffolk
North East CSF Team (csf.northeast@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear
North West CSF Team (csf.northwest@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside
Severn CSF Team (csf.severn@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire
South Anglia CSF Team (csf.southanglia@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, North Buckinghamshire
South East and Thames CSF Team (csf.southeastthames@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex
Wessex CSF Team (csf.wessex@naturalengland.org.uk)
Covers: Bristol, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire
Sources & Further Reading
- Catchment Sensitive Farming: advice for farmers and land managers – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catchment-sensitive-farming-reduce-agricultural-water-pollution
- Farming Advice Service: Events – https://www.farmingadviceservice.org.uk/events
- Capital Grants plans 2026 – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-grants-plans-2026
- Countryside Stewardship Grant RP16: Rainwater goods – https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/rainwater-goods-rp16
- Countryside Stewardship Grant RP18: Above ground rainwater tanks – https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/above-ground-tanks-rp18