Posted on: 9 July 2025
Most of the farms and smallholdings in Devon and Somerset tested are ensuring that their livestock have access to clean drinking water.
In a round of Food Standards Agency-funded visits, Heart of the South West Trading Standards’ rural team took water samples from troughs, buckets and other water receptacles on 21 farms.
Of the 21 businesses tested 20 were compliant – however officers found high levels of lead in the drinking water at one farm.
The visits were carried out to test for heavy metals, salmonella, campylobacter and pesticides.
Access to clean water is vital; unclean water can lead to serious health problems for livestock and affect their reproduction and growth.
Bacteria, such as salmonella, can lead to a number of diseases in cattle; while water contaminated with toxins, such as heavy metals, can lead to long-term health issues.
Additionally, there is a chance that toxins and pathogens in animal drinking water could enter the food chain and contaminate meat, milk and eggs.
Katie Samuels from Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service said: “Poor quality water can also be indicative of broader environmental issues, such as contamination from agricultural runoff, pollution and poor land management practices.
“Carrying out a water sampling project like this allows us the opportunity to identify previously overlooked problems on farms.”