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As the deadline to spread slurry approaches, the Irish Farmers Journal has exclusively reported that a blanket extension has effectively been ruled out.
Instead, farm planners and advisers were notified over the weekend of a plan to deal with farmers who need to spread slurry after the deadline on a case-by-case basis.
This would be a similar strategy to the one implemented last year, where 80 farmers were granted permission on a case-by-case basis to spread slurry after the deadline.
The IFA has made repeated calls on the Government to recognise the difficulties facing many farmers in relation to slurry this year, with adverse weather conditions meaning farmers had to house stock before the winter period.
The organisation said it was hopeful that this flexibility will relieve some of the pressure farmers feel if they are not able to get their slurry out before the 15 October deadline.
Inspection
However, it was also made known to advisers that farmers who were granted permission to spread slurry after the deadline will be “prioritised for inspection in the immediate future to ensure compliance with the nitrates regulations”.
The IFA’s environment chair Thomas Cooney said the association expects inspectors to be fair and balanced in the circumstances. But most farmers will not be keen to apply for an individual extension if their chances of receiving an inspection are increased.
The ICMSA said the Department’s threat to prioritise inspections of farmers seeking a slurry-spreading extension is “grossly unfair”.
Its president John Comer told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Farmers who needed such a slurry spreading extension were under enough pressure as it is and prioritising them for inspection defeated the point of giving them some ‘breathing space’ and the opportunity to farm themselves out of their current problems.”
Richard White, national chair or the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI), has welcomed the slurry flexibility scheme.
“This new flexibility approach provides our contractor members with scope to make sensible decisions in association with their farmer clients. We welcome the fact that the departments of agriculture and environment have finally recognised our concerns for animal welfare and operator safety arising from the huge pressures being exerted on contractors and their operator teams to meet the deadline following a prolonged period of heavy rainfall in specific parts of the country,” he said.
Weather
Periods of prolonged rainfall across the country have also meant that ground conditions are extremely wet and unsuitable to spread slurry in some parts.
Teagasc adviser in Donegal Gary Fisher told the Irish Farmers Journal that a case-by-case system was “not going to alleviate the slurry problem” in his area, as there was little chance of the land drying up coming into the winter period.
Contractors are being put under increasing pressure to spread slurry this week as the deadline approaches, but farmers and contractors should remember to always put safety first when dealing with slurry.
Applying for extension
Farmers wishing to apply for permission to spread slurry after 15 October should make their applications to the Nitrates Section of the Department of Agriculture. They can do this by calling 053-916 3444 or by emailing nitrates@agriculture.gov.ie with details of their flooding or trafficability situation, their herd number and any other relevant data.
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