Farmers see water protection rules as a nuisance – Teagasc expert
Farmers see the required “paperwork and bureaucracy” associated with water protection regulations as a nuisance, a Teagasc expert has warned.
ASSAP manager Noel Meehan told a Teagasc Signpost Series webinar that some farmers “are not taking heed” of the existing rules.
“GAP [Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters] Regulations are seen by farmers as more paperwork and bureaucracy — a nuisance really,” he said. Mr Meehan highlighted that almost 50pc of nutrient loss takes place during the closed period for slurry spreading, which is approximately 25pc of the year.
He said that the GAP Regulations are “not there for fun” and “they are there to protect water quality and they need to be adhered to”.
The ASSAP manager advises it is beneficial to have excess slurry storage, which will allow farmers to make better decisions on when and where to use slurry.
In an example, Mr Meehan highlighted a case where a farmer had spread slurry on a field susceptible to flooding on January 25, and by February 12, the same field was submerged.
Risk
“I read in the farming media a contractor said the umbilical system is great to get on the ground that’s a bit wetter. If the ground is wet and putting 3,000 gallons of slurry out, followed by high rainfall, there is a very high risk of that getting lost,” he said.
He highlighted that organic manures are as good as chemical phosphorus and “probably safer”, provided they are applied at the right time and place. But the issue is that organic fertiliser, for many reasons, may not be optimally used.
“Chemical P is purchased so a higher value is put on it. Farmers are much more careful in how they use it compared to how they use slurry,” he said.
Last month, Mr Meehan told the Farming Independent that farmers should hold off slurry spreading if they can until late February and early March for optimum utilisation of nutrients and to prevent run-off.
“If you put out a significant amount of slurry greater than growth rate and crop demand, it’s just going to sit there and not utilised until either you have a dry enough spell, [so] it may stay there, or if you get heavy rain… then there is potential for that to be lost,” he said.