Slurry - Contractors and farmers reminded of regulations and buffer zones

With the end of the closed period on 31 January, farmers and contractors can begin spreading slurry – but only if the ground and weather conditions are suitable.
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This is an extremely important aspect of the slurry spreading regulations which must be followed.

You should be aware of the Nutrients Action Programme regulations and the changes that were introduced.

All contractors, and anyone spreading digestate, must use low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE), this applies to any farms with over 200 livestock cattle units.

For the month of February, buffer zones will increase to 30m from lakes, and 15m from any other waterways.

This buffer zone can be reduced to 5m if LESSE is used, and certain conditions are met.

The maximum slurry rate is reduced to 30m3 per hectare for each application (2,700 gallons/acre).

Ulster Farmers’ Union policy chair, Bill Harpur, warned: “Any farmer caught breaching these conditions could see their Basic Payment penalised.

“Contractors should be very careful too, as they can also be held responsible in these circumstances.”

With farmers having to endure the high cost of fertilisers, maximising the use of nutrients within slurry is going to be vital for all farmers.

“Spreading nutrients efficiently on land, gives farmers the ability to control the level of inputs being applied on their farm and another opportunity to lessen the impact that market volatility and weather can have on the farm business.

“Over the past few weeks, members will have been busy soil sampling to determine the fertility of their land before growing season.

“This should be a key part of a farm’s nutrient management plan which can be followed throughout the year so that both organic and chemical nutrients are applied at the right time, in the fields that need it most and at an appropriate rate.

“A well-structured farm nutrient management plan is a valuable tool that can help farms become more efficient, reducing reliance on imported expensive chemical fertilisers,” added Mr Harpur.

The UFU is also reminding farmers that the deadline to submit records of slurry and all other organic manures exported from farms during 2021 is 31 January 2022.

Any farm exporting slurry, chicken litter or manure to another farm must submit this information online to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

The NAP rules are part of cross compliance and failure to comply could result in penalties being applied to a farmer’s Basic Payment.

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