One of the biggest challenges in improving water quality across agricultural landscapes is moving from measurement to meaningful action. While nutrient assessments can help identify potential pressures within farming systems, understanding where those pressures intersect with landscape and hydrological risk is critical to targeting interventions effectively, particularly at scale where resources need to be focused on the areas that can deliver the greatest environmental benefit.
We are pleased to support First Milk’s new water quality programme, which combines nutrient footprinting with our satellite-led water risk mapping across 700 of their dairy farms. By bringing these datasets together, the programme provides a more complete picture of where nutrient pressures and landscape risk overlap, helping to prioritise action at both field and catchment level.
The approach also reflects a broader principle highlighted by First Milk’s regenerative farming team. As Lee Truelove, Head of Regenerative Farming at First Milk, explains:
“Critically, this is not about asking farmers to choose between performance and environmental responsibility. Our data shows that productive dairy farms can also have a lower nutrient footprint.”
How Senus ERA Supports Water Risk Assessment
At Senus, we provide environmental intelligence derived from satellite and geospatial data through Senus ERA (Environmental Reporting Assistant), helping organisations better understand and monitor environmental risks, including water-related risks, at scale. ERA enables clients to assess environmental performance and risk across farms, sourcing regions and supply chains, supporting informed decision-making and risk management.
In this programme, field-level water risk mapping assesses factors such as slope and proximity to watercourses to help identify where nutrients may be more likely to reach rivers and streams. When combined with farm-level nutrient footprinting, this creates a more joined-up view of risk, supporting prioritisation of action across complex farming systems.
As water quality becomes an increasingly important consideration for agriculture and the wider food supply chain, approaches that connect environmental data with practical land management decisions will continue to play a role in supporting both farm resilience and improved environmental outcomes.
We look forward to continuing to support First Milk as this programme develops and to contributing to evidence-led approaches to water quality management at scale.
