Teagasc is stress testing its advice to individual dairy farmers in the event the derogation is cut in future to 170kg organic N/ha in line with “good planning practice”.

“Teagasc provides advice based on the existing rules at any given time. The plans based on that advice are stressed tested against any known risks,” a Teagasc spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

This, they said, is “normal business planning advice”.

In the case of the derogation, the spokesperson said that depending on the location of the individual farm, the existing rules allow for a derogation up to 220kg organic N/ha, and in some locations 250kg organic N/ha.

“Those locations are based on the maps produced by the Environmental Protection Agency and [the Department of Agriculture].

Known risk

“It’s a known risk that if water quality does not improve, those limits will be reviewed.

“So, as per good planning practice, the advice given to individual farmers is stressed tested at 170[kg N/ha],” they added.