Keeping the water flowing at Wethercote Farm

Wethercote Farm is a mixed arable and livestock farm run by Richard Bell and his father, Terry. It relies on a natural spring for its water, a supply that has served the farm well for years, but which becomes vulnerable during prolonged dry periods. When the spring stops, the knock-on effects are immediate. Livestock need water every day, and the daily running of the farm depends on a reliable supply that simply cannot be left to chance.

Back in 2023, with support from FiPL (Farming in Protected Landscapes) Richard took steps to improve the farm’s weather resilience, by installing a new water storage system.

On 26 August 2026, FiPL Monitoring Officer, Sarah Nixon, visited Richard, to see how a this is helping the farm cope with the pressures of prolonged dry weather. The visit was a chance to review the benefits of works completed on the holding, and to hear directly from Richard about how they have performed.

The new system, built around a combination of tanks and IBCs (Intermediate Bulk Container), gives the farm a way to store water when it is plentiful and draw on it when conditions turn dry. That stored water can be used to fill tankers for cattle or to support spraying operations, easing the pressure on the spring.

There is also a second benefit. The system is connected into the farm's water network in a way that allows it to operate by gravity, without needing electricity, for around twelve hours at a stretch. During a recent power cut one evening, the farm lost its electricity supply, which would normally have meant losing access to water as well. Instead, the gravity-fed system kept water flowing right through the night, giving the farm enough of a buffer until an electrician could attend the following morning.

Beyond the practical benefits, the new tanks have also made a visible difference to the farmyard itself. They replaced an old steel tank that had started to deteriorate internally, and in doing so have tidied up the site considerably. What was once an ageing and increasingly unreliable piece of infrastructure has been swapped for a setup that is cleaner, sturdier and built to last.