This article is from page 36 of the 2012-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
WITH slurry storage capacity reaching critical levels on many Clare farms, the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney (FG), last week released the details for next year’s nitrates regulations.
As a Zone B county, Clare farmers were legally allowed to begin spreading slurry again on their farms from mid-January but this process was severely delayed on many farms because of poor soil conditions.
However, following the recent cold and dry conditions, it is expected that many farmers will be in a position to begin emptying their slurry tanks in the coming days and weeks.
Speaking in Dublin last week, the Minister for Agriculture announced the application requirements for farmers seeking a nitrates derogation this year with exact details of the derogation process now available on the Department’s website.
As in previous years, the closing date for receipt of applications has been set for March 31 and no applications for derogations will be accepted after this date. A copy of the fertiliser plan must be submitted with the application unless the farmer has either an approved derogation for 2010 or 2011 or an approved REPS 4 plan in place.
“This is the ideal time to consider whether or not to apply for a dero- gation in 2012. Intensive grassland farmers are allowed to exceed the general limit of 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year from livestock manure on their farm, up to a limit of 250 kg, provided that they have a derogation in place,” he said.
“The Nitrogen and Phosphorus statements for 2011 will be issued to the more intensive farmers shortly. These statements are there to assist farmers in deciding whether or not they need to apply for a derogation.”
The minister encouraged farmers that will exceed the nitrates limits to apply for a derogation or take other remedial action and thereby avoid penalties being applied to their scheme payments.
“The Department is continuing with the initiative introduced last year to inform the less intensive farmers of their estimated capacity to take in and use organic fertilisers as an alternative to buying in chemical fertiliser,” he said. “A key element of the growth projections under Food Harvest 2020 is the drive for greater efficiencies at farm level including the cost of input. The efficient use of organic fertiliser is a key point in this context.
“I was encouraged by the response to last year’s initiative and I expect an even greater interest this year from farmers who previously would not have considered taking in slurry.”