Minister fires warning shot on slurry spreading rules

The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has warned farmers that the Department of Agriculture will “come down like a tonne of bricks” on anyone not following the rules around slurry spreading.

He said Ireland is fighting to hold on to the nitrates derogation and that the Department has to take a “really hard line” against anyone who breaks the rules.

“It cannot and will not be tolerated. The Department will come down like a tonne of bricks on people who are not following the rules.

"One farmer who doesn’t follow the rules does immense damage not just to the environment, but to those around him who are following the rules and following them carefully.

“We need to make sure that every farmer has the storage they require. It’s simply a must. Farmers must have enough storage for their needs, to make sure they can hold the slurry until a time when it’s sensible to spread it.

"If someone doesn’t have the storage, well you better go and get it,” he told an Irish Grain Growers Group/Fianna Fáil meeting on the Howard farm in Bellewstown, Co Meath, on Tuesday night.

He said that the nitrates derogation has had a “real influence” on the competition for land this year, particularly for tillage farmers.

“We are working to try and get flexibility at EU level in relation to the nitrates derogation,” he said, adding that if there isn’t an improvement in water quality, the derogation will drop from 250/kg nitrogen per hectare (N/ha) to 220/kg N/ha.

“That’s what drove the competition for land last year because if you are farming between 250/kg and 220/kg your options are to reduce [numbers] or get extra land.”

Tax breaks

When asked by the Irish Farmers Journal if he was in favour of tax breaks for tillage farmers to rent land, he said that he set up the Food Vision Tillage Group to see what policy platform could be put in place to see tillage grow in the years ahead.

“I haven’t any pre-determined views. I’m hoping we’ll have some good ideas which when we implement them will work. We want to see tillage grow. We’ll see what comes out of it,” he said.

Dairy cull

How the new dairy cull scheme will work continues to be scoped out at the moment, Minister McConalogue has said.

“It’s being considered as part of the Food Vision Dairy Group. It was a proposal that came from the group originally with significant support among farm organisations as a voluntary option.

“Those farm organisations and the stakeholders on the group have been asked for further consideration [on the scheme],” he said.

The minister said he has not tasked Teagasc with carrying out an impact assessment of the scheme.