Editorial: building on nitrates success

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published water quality nitrates results for a selected number of rivers for 2024. The report is called an ‘early indicator report’ and will build into a much larger five-year water quality report (2019 to 2024), due later in the year. That multi-annual report will be based on the national nitrates monitoring network, and will be more comprehensive.

The good news from the early indicator report, based on 2024 results, is that nitrates concentrations are down relative to the previous years. This is true for the catchments of concern, where nitrogen concentrations are too high, but also for those catchments meeting targets. The EPA concludes while results are down relative to 2023, the nitrogen concentrations in the catchments of concern remain too high overall. It is also worth remembering nitrates levels are only one part of the water quality assessment. Phosphate and water ecology measures are other important measures that often lag farmer changes.

Before farmers and politicians start swooning over positive one-year results, let’s be crystal clear about what is happening. Using the nitrogen sales metric, farmers are purchasing 31% less artificial nitrogen than they were five years ago. Surplus nitrogen is a large contributor to elevated nitrates levels measured in water. So in essence, if we didn’t see a nitrates reduction, it would be a surprise. However, given the large scale reduction in nitrogen usage, the water nitrates reduction is relatively small.

Looking through a wider industry lens we are producing less milk, beef, lamb and grain in this country. The Irish food industry is scaling back and has been scaling back in all four major food commodities, as policy shifts tighten the ability and capacity of all farm sectors to produce food. It is farm specific and dependent on output and input prices, but less nitrogen, less grass grown, more purchased feed usually mean less margin for farm families and is less sustainable overall.

Less margin and less food produced – is that it? Is that the right road to improving water quality? The nitrates results are positive, but we really need to build on this and look further under the bonnet. Much more needs to happen and is happening on family farms. Farmers are using more grain and purchased feeds on-farm instead of grass. This could come back to bite. The industry has used less artificial nitrogen, which means we are growing less grass. This, in effect, could be creating a further problem. When you are feeding more purchased feeds, you are purchasing and bringing more phosphorus onto farms, which can have a negative effect on water quality. We know this from other systems, where higher levels of feeding is the normal routine, they deliver elevated phosphorus water results.

We know point source is still a problem on some farms. The political promise to fast-track or even exempt planning permission for additional slurry storage remains just a promise. The 60% grant and separate ceiling for slurry storage has been delivered. In addition, farmers still can’t see beyond the derogation decision due at the end of the year and the next mid-term derogation review, if the end of year application is successful. This limits the capacity and vision of some farms to invest.

Farmers know they need more slurry storage. Many are willing to invest, but are waiting to pass through TAMS hoops, environmental assessments and hop over planning hurdles to make a start. That’s before you get near the construction phase on-farm. For some, all this means it will be another year before they can invest in more storage. That’s another year lost.

We need to increase the use of winter green cover on tillage farms. We need to fix soil fertility. We know over 50% of our soils are not in the right balance. We need to fix urban wastewater treatment plants that are often under-sized or not in existence. Teagasc, the Department, the County Councils and farmers all have a role in the solutions. Any business that feeds into a water catchment needs to be held accountable. One year of positive nitrates results is not the time to stand back from the fight, but another year lost by failed political promises and unnecessary red tape is simply not good enough.