The Department of Agriculture is expected to announce on Tuesday 10 October that farmers who will not be able to spread slurry must contact the nitrates division to inform the relevant people of their situation.Over the weekend, farm planners and advisers were made aware of the strategy to deal with farmers on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Agriculture is expected to announce on Tuesday 10 October that farmers who will not be able to spread slurry must contact the nitrates division to inform the relevant people of their situation.
Over the weekend, farm planners and advisers were made aware of the strategy to deal with farmers on a case-by-case basis.
This essentially rules out an official blanket extension of the slurry spreading deadline.
From Tuesday, either a farmer or his/her planner must contact the nitrates section with their herd number as well as their current concerns.
Farmers will be advised to only spread a “volume of slurry necessary to ensure adequate storage capacity for the remainder of the closed period”.
Farmers will also be advised that “any spreading should occur as soon as good spreading conditions exist”.
Inspection threat
However, in the circular, it was made known that farmers will be “prioritised for inspection in the immediate future to ensure compliance with the nitrates regulations”.
This means farmers who need to spread slurry and who contact the Department to spread outside the closed period are more likely to receive an on-farm inspection from the Department of Agriculture to see if they have enough storage capacity on the farm.
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