Despite the past weeks improved weather, progress on farms across Northern Ireland is still seriously delayed and in response the UFU has called for flexibility in European rules governing farming activities.
The UFU is urging DOE and DARD to ensure EU rules are relaxed to allow farmers to complete this years work as the weather permits.
The UFU highlighted the Nitrates Directive slurry spreading closed period and rules about livestock 'poaching' grass
land as some of the areas where farmers need flexibility.
UFU President Graham Furey said: "The good weather in the past week has been a welcome relief and a lot of catch-up work has been done in the past number of days.
"Overall however the weather through August and September has been very wet, seriously disrupting the harvesting of cereals, vegetables and potatoes; and many livestock producers are well behind in getting silage gathered and slurry out.
"We have notified this to DARD and DOE and we have asked for flexibility on some important EU rules".
"Farmers with the required slurry storage are not supposed to spread slurry on the land after 15 October.
"However many farmers will not be able to meet this deadline this year because their work schedule is so far behind.
"Land has been waterlogged and silage is well behind schedule. In many instances livestock have been housed much earlier than normal and this is generating an even greater volume of slurry.
"Livestock poaching ground has also been almost unavoidable because of the weather. We need flexibility on these rules".
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