If farmers improve water quality, they will keep the nitrates derogation, IFA environment chair John Murphy has said.

Addressing Clonakilty IFA’s dairy seminar on Monday night, he said the industry needs to concentrate on improvements not the targets.

“If we do that, water quality will constantly be improving and it will increase our chances of retaining the nitrates derogation. My attitude to this is, if we can hold onto what we have, science and the progression of time will help us dramatically.”

In response to calls for more long-term certainty around the derogation, he said that five years is the most in terms of certainty that farmers can except for any Nitrates Action Programme (NAP).

“We have one year remaining in the current NAP and four for the next one, if it is agreed.

“Reducing losses of nitrogen and phosphorus to water is key to this and an increase in manpower in terms of advisers on the ground to help farmers plan and manage their resources better are essential,” he added.

The meeting also heard that Carbery has paid out a total of €4.7m to suppliers who took part in the ‘Future Proof’ Sustainability programme this year.

Carbery director of sustainability, Enda Buckley, said that 84% of suppliers took part in it this year.

Buckley added that the level of decarbonisation achieved by west Cork farmers reducing chemical nitrogen to the tune of 41,309t from 2022 to 2023 equated to the same level of greenhouse gas emissions from 7,500 cows.