Environment: buffer zone increases

With the torrential rain that hit some parts of the country over the past week, farmers need to assess ground conditions and check the weather forecast before they go ahead with the last of the slurry spreading before the deadline of 12 midnight on 14 October.

The prohibited period kicks in on 15 October.

Buzzer zones

Farmers should be aware that from 1 October the buffer zone along any water surface increases from 5m to 10m.

For water courses where the slope of the field towards the watercourse exceeds 10%, the buffer zone is always 10m.

Farmers have up to and including 31 October to spread farmyard manure on their land.

Contractors are currently active in the fields at this job and farmers must be aware that they are not allowed to store FYM on fields over the prohibited spreading period.

This is one of the key areas that an inspector will check for during a nitrates inspection.

LESS forms issue

Farmers who chose Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) as one of their actions through GLAS will have received their annual declaration and claim form from the Department of Agriculture over the past week.

This form must be completed and returned before 31 October or farmers will face delays in receiving their GLAS payments.

Failure to return the form may result in a farmer becoming ineligible for payment for the LESS action or for the entire scheme.

Payment

Every year, GLAS payments will be delayed for a number of farmers for a whole raft of reasons, but ensuring you fill out the form and send it back promptly may help to ensure you receive your 85% GLAS advance payment in November.

To be eligible for payment for LESS, the minimum volume of slurry to be applied annually is 50m3.

As 1m3 is equal to 1,000 litres (220 gallons), it means farmers have to spread a minimum of 11,000 gallons of slurry through LESS equipment.

The form must be returned to GLAS, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford, Y35PN52.