Department pleads with dairy sector to improve water quality for sake of Nitrates Derogation extension

By adam will On Mar 23, 2023 72 0

The Department of Agriculture has made a plea to the dairy sector to do everything it can in order to help secure an extension to the contentious nitrates derogation.

peaking at the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) AGM in Portlaoise on Thursday morning, Senior Inspector at the Departments nitrates and biodiversity division Ted Massey issued the warning.

“I plead with you to engage with clients to do all we can to improve water quality. Realistically we have to do more. Improve compliance and look at what else we can do. If we don’t act now it will be too late,” he said.

The current Nitrates Derogation allows farmers to exceed the limit of 170kg of livestock manure nitrogen per hectare set down in the Nitrates Regulations, up to a maximum of 250kg per hectare.

A mid-term review could see the possibility of reducing the maximum kg/ha organic N under derogation to 220kg N/ha from 2024, depending on water quality trends.

Mr Massey also confirmed that 11,000 herds have confirmed their band under the dairy excretion rate band. This leaves 5,000 herds who have not confirmed their band to date, with a fast approaching deadline of March 31.

Three quarters of herds are registered into the average yielding band (producing between 4,500-6,500kg of milk at 92kg N/cow).

Just 12pc have fallen into the high yielding band (producing greater than 6,500kg of milk at 106kg N/cow).

The Department said that application rate into Derogation has been slow so far, with 1,000 applications in, with Mr Massey suspecting that “banding potentially to blame for the delay.”

Farmers have been given a two-week extension to the deadline for submission of nitrates derogation applications for 2023 until 12 noon on 14 April.

The Department also gave updates on application rates to various other schemes. A total of 1,900 applications have been received to the new national Liming Programme which has funding of €8m.

The programme provides a financial contribution to participating farmers of €16/t of Calcium ground limestone/Magnesium ground limestone applied.

Over 19,000 applications have been received for the sheep welfare scheme. The payment is €12/eligible ewe.

A total of 542 applications have been received so far for the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

It rewards participants with a payment of €150/cow on the first 22 cows and €120/cow on subsequent cows.

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