With the opening of the slurry spreading season starting this week in Zone A and next week for Zone B, it will be all systems go to reduce increasing slurry levels in tanks.

Despite the busy period, farmers should be extra vigilant agitating slurry tanks with the real dangers posed by slurry gas. It is always best to agitate on a breezy day when there is good air movement. The Health and Safety Authority has some excellent advice on slurry agitating at www.hsa.ie/eng/Your_Industry/Agriculture_Forestry/Safe_Handling_of_Slurry/.

Coppicing/laying of hedgerows

The deadline for coppicing and laying of hedgerows for farmers participating in GLAS I is fast approaching. Many farmers are confused about the difference between coppicing and laying so below is a brief outline of what is involved in each. Remember, a digger bucket cannot be used to carry out this work.

  • Deadline GLAS I is 28 February 2017
  • Deadline GLAS II is 30 November 2017

    • Coppicing

    Coppice all selected hedgerows by cutting stems to less than 15cm from ground level. Use either a circular saw head on a digger or a chainsaw or a combination of both to do this.

    Cut as close to the ground as possible with a smooth sloping cut to allow water to run off. The minimum linear length that must be coppiced is 10m and this must be in a single continuous length.

    The maximum linear length for payment that can be coppiced on a holding is 750m.

    Infilling must be carried out if gaps are present in the hedgerow that will not be filled by regrowth from the coppiced hedgerow.

    Laying

    Laying should be carried out the same as above, with the only difference being you are not cutting all the way across the stem.

    Instead, using a circular saw head or a chain saw, cut the stem 75% of the way through and lay the stem over on its side. The maximum linear length for payment on a holding is 1,000m. Infilling should be carried out where needed also.