Deregulation of farming Lead to the flooding

It's a proposition rather than conclusive proof but there's a strong enough argument in there to make it worth discussing..

Lol, I knew that would be Monbiot before I even clicked it. Whether you agree with the guy or not he's consistent and persistent

It sounds plausible. I vaguely remember in a Geography lesson being taught that winter wheat caused major flooding on the South downs (or somewhere like that) in the 80s because it allowed soil be washed away from naked fields and so to plug up little holes in the chalk.