As the opening dates to spread organic fertilisers and farmyard manure approaches, farmers are reminded that the use of low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) equipment is now compulsory on farms stocked at 100kg N/ha or above.

Dates for slurry and fertiliser spreading vary depending on geographic location, with zone A including counties Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.

Farmers in zone A will be permitted to spread organic fertilisers such as slurry and farmyard manure from midnight on Monday 13 January.

Zones B and C

Zone B includes counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

Zone C includes Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim and Monaghan.

Farmers in Zone B will be permitted to spread from midnight on Thursday 16 January, while farmers in zone C are permitted to spread from Saturday 1 February.

Although the opening dates are close, many farmers will be unable to spread slurry due to frozen ground or possibly waterlogged fields.

Chemical fertilisers containing nitrogen or phosphorous are not to be spread until opening of play on 27 January for those in zone A, 30 January for zone B and 15 February for zone C.