The wet summer has meant that farmers in the north and the west have housed early and had little opportunity to get slurry tanks emptied.That has led to some calls for Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen to allow farmers to spread during the closed period, which is due to start at midnight on 15 October and run until midnight on 31 January.
The wet summer has meant that farmers in the north and the west have housed early and had little opportunity to get slurry tanks emptied.
That has led to some calls for Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen to allow farmers to spread during the closed period, which is due to start at midnight on 15 October and run until midnight on 31 January.
However, the reality is that it is pointless calling for a relaxation to the closed period in NI as there is already provision in NI law allowing farmers to spread slurry under exceptional circumstances and when they have “reasonable excuse”.
The key point, reinforced by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) this week is that farmers must be careful. If the weather improves and slurry is to be spread beyond 15 October, it should only be applied on land where there is a low risk of run-off.
Where a farm receives a visit from the NI Environment Agency, an inspector will seek to ascertain the reasons why slurry was spread. They will also check that 22 weeks’ slurry storage capacity is normally available on the farm and that clean rainwater is not getting into tanks. Tanks should be lowered to allow a farm to get through to the end of the closed period, not totally emptied. An inspector could seek various documented evidence. The UFU can assist members with the information required.
“Brussels will be keeping a close eye on compliance with the closed period and could demand extra storage if farmers are continually struggling to comply. The industry cannot afford to have more restrictions or additional storage requirements imposed,” warned UFU president Barclay Bell.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: