This is a subscriber-only article
Listen to "Free weed wiping extended in NI" on Spreaker.
A free weed-wiping service for rush control is being extended to farmers in the Eden Burn sub-catchment of the River Bann near Ballymoney, Co Antrim.
The project, which will run for two years from April to October in 2019 and 2020, will involve a contractor weed-wiping rushes with glyphosate on participating farms.
The aim is to reduce the use of MCPA-based pesticides for rush control in the Eden Burn sub-catchment.
Speaking at an event in Ballymoney on Thursday evening, Roy Taylor from NI Water said that removing MCPA from water at the local treatment works in Ballinrees carries a significant cost.
Filters
Farmers were told that a set of carbon filters for removing pesticides can cost £5m and annual running costs can reach up to £50,000.
A similar scheme has been run in the Seagahan catchment in Co Armagh and it saw MCPA levels reduce by 50% in the first year and by 75% in year two.
Costs
Taylor said the savings in the water treatment works outweighed costs associated with delivering the free weed-wiping service in Seagahan.
“We saved in the region of £50,000 in carbon costs in the water treatment works because it is that expensive to take pesticides out to produce high-quality drinking water,” he said.
Farmers were told that MCPA can linger in water for 30 to 40 days and requires expensive water treatment filtering, whereas glyphosate breaks down naturally within a few days. Weed wiping also delivers a more targeted application than spraying.
Farmers in the Eden Burn sub catchment that are interested in taking part in the scheme should contact NI Water on 07803799217 or email weedwiping@niwater.com
Read more in next week’s NI edition of the Irish Farmers Journal and at www.ifj.ie/ni.
SHARING OPTIONS: