Teagasc senior researcher Pat Tuohy said that, on average, slurry tanks on the 100 dairy farms involved in his current research project were 20% full at the closing date for slurry spreading last October.

Speaking at the Slurry Solutions event, organised by the Carbery Group, in Rosscarbery, he said that tanks ranged from empty up to as much as 45% full when the closed period for spreading slurry commenced in 2023. Acknowledging that 2023 wasn’t a typical year and that heavy rainfall last autumn contributed to making it difficult to spread slurry, Tuohy said that while storage capacity is tight, in many cases it makes it much more challenging if a lot of storage is full before the winter begins.

“Where are we then, come December and January?” he asked.

He also encouraged farmers to look at ways to keep rain water out of tanks, as this was a contributing factor to filling up tanks.