At an event in Ballymena last week, new agriculture minister Edwin Poots told journalists that he will order a review of the slurry ban, and also that he would be raising with meat plants the four-residency rule and asking why cattle over 30 months are penalised.

These three issues will probably resonate well with farmers, and to be fair to the minister it is hard to fault much of what he has said to date across a range of subjects.

But it is also important that as an industry we do not get distracted by what are relatively minor concerns compared to the big ticket items of bovine TB, greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, trading post 1 January 2021 and future agricultural policy in NI.

Granted the slurry ban still causes a degree of frustration among farmers, and there is no doubt it is a pretty blunt instrument.

However, it has been in place in NI since 2007, and over the years, compliance with the legislation has been very high. There is also the concept of “reasonable excuse” written into the rules, something which is not available in the Republic of Ireland.

While there is an argument for a new system based around soil temperature and moisture, and prevailing weather conditions, given the variability in soils and climate across NI it could end up making the management of slurry even more difficult for farmers.

Penalties

When it comes to the penalties applied by meat plants for cattle with more than four residencies or over 30 months, farmers are right to point out that it has nothing to do with meat eating quality and isn’t consumer-led (few, if any would even understand the terms).

But the reality is that there just isn’t enough money in the system to allow cattle to be traded multiple times, and the pressure (both from an efficiency and environmental perspective) will increasingly be to kill prime cattle at younger ages, not hold them for longer on farms.

Read more

New environment body not to be feared – Poots

Minister wants weather-based slurry restrictions in NI

Coupled payments – the issue that won’t go away