The cut to Ireland’s nitrates derogation is causing farmers to make “uneconomic” decisions, Tirlán CEO Jim Bergin has said.

He told the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) conference on Thursday that the reduction is creating an incredible level at stress at farm level.

“It’s causing farmers to do things that, in some cases, are uneconomic, like renting land or long-term leases for €500/ac not knowing what the market is going to give.

“The consequence now [is that] farmers will continue to acquire land or to rent land on long-term leases.

“The battle for land is at a very high level,” he said.

Bergin outlined that 30% of Tirlán suppliers are operating between the 250kg of nitrogen per hectare (N/ha) and 220kg N/ha level. He said about 60% of Tirlán farmers in total have drystock on their farms.

“An obvious step now is to remove those, so where are they going to go? The ultimate is the possibility of reduction,” he said.

Science

Bergin said that it is his worry that the “science of what actually is possible on the rivers hasn’t been done”.

“Everybody talks about reduction and farmers are affected by that.

“Nobody has set a baseline to say what can farmers implement in best practice policy, in nutrient management and water quality management, actually produce? What levels can they have? I need to see the science on that, between the various different enterprises.

“I would be a little bit afraid that in this rhetoric of discussion that we go below the level of production that we possibly can achieve.

“I don’t think we can dispute, too much, the fact that we haven’t made enough progress. The water quality is what it is,” he said.

Complex transition

The Tirlán boss warned that the change to the derogation is the most complex transition that farmers have - possibly ever - been faced with.

“I’ve gone through three transitions before this one. From being a young chap and seeing the growth in milk and automation back in the '70s, I’ve seen the quota era; 34 years of a focus on efficiency and consolidation; and then I’ve seen the massive expansion over the last number of years from 2015 to 2021.

“I’m absolutely convinced that what is presented to farmers at the moment - and they only have half the story - is the most complex transition they have ever faced,” he said.

He said that Tirlán is in the late stages of completing a survey of suppliers on the change and it will have 80% of farmers surveyed in relation to the derogation.

In the next few weeks, the outcome of that survey will “guide us on where we go from there”, he said, adding that 220kg N/ha would have been in farmers’ thinking when they completed the survey.