Home owners and prospective property buyers are being warned that new EU legislation regulating the storage of farm waste - muck, slurry or dung - will legally require farmers to store all their farm waste and effluent in greater volumes between October 1 and the middle of January each year.
This will lead to intensive slurry and muck spreading, with greater volumes of waste being spread on land from late January until the spring. Anyone looking to buy a country house near a farm is being advised to take note.
Jonathan Bramwell, director of country property at buying agents Prime Purchase, says: ‘The countryside is certainly going to be a lot smellier at certain times of the year.
‘This is a serious issue not only for farmers but also for people who own properties adjoining livestock farms. Spreading of farm waste can only happen in a “closed period” with no spreading allowed in the autumn and winter. The extra quantities of stored waste will be smelly and then there will be more smells from mid-January onwards as the slurry and other waste spread will be more concentrated.’
As the viewing and buying period of country houses generally doesn’t begin until March each year, buyers often overlook the problem of farm smells when viewing houses near commercial livestock farms
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Where in the world is this? — and other pressing questions. It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, October 14, 2025Test your general knowledge in Tuesday's quiz.
