In the last 10 days we have seen another two slurry-related incidents, one of which resulted in the tragic death of a local farmer.

It again highlights the dangers of working with slurry, and with the closed period looming last Saturday no doubt the pressure was on across NI farms to get tanks emptied. That was exacerbated for many farms in the north and west this year, given the wet weather conditions during August and September, which limited spreading opportunities.

There is of course the ability to spread slurry during the closed period under “exceptional circumstances”, but it is a clause that few use, as most do not want to attract the attention of NI Environment Agency inspectors. It means that compliance with the closed period (midnight 15 October to midnight 31 January) is widespread.

However, is it really the best solution to preventing water pollution linked to slurry? We all know that heavy rainfall at any time of the year, including mid-summer, can lead to significant runoff from land.

Is the prevailing weather after the time of spreading more important than the date of application?

With dry weather forecast for the rest of this week, surely there is less risk from slurry applied now (in the closed period), than that which was spread last Saturday ahead of the weekend rain?

Grass growth

But saying that, we must also accept that grass growth in many areas is very limited in the November-to-January period, and it might only be in an exceptional period of dry weather that it might be viable to spread.

There is also a raft of rules around slurry spreading. Sludgigators are banned, slurry must not be spread within 10m of a watercourse, on frozen or waterlogged land, or if heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours.

It really begs the question: do we need a closed period as well?