IFA president Joe Healy has called on Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to extend the slurry spreading deadline beyond 15 October.

Healy said some farms had been unable to spread slurry for the past number of weeks and in some cases months due to poor weather and ground conditions.

This is causing extreme distress and adding to what has been a challenging year

“The need to resolve this issue is significant, with an increasing number of farmers expressing concern as the end date is fast approaching. This is causing extreme distress and adding to what has been a challenging year for many farmers, particularly in the livestock sector.

“The main issue is the number of days lost during the period when slurry spreading is allowed,” Healy said.

Weather

Minister Creed was also strongly encouraged to reconsider the position of his Department by IFA environment chair Thomas Cooney. Cooney said Met Éireann was anticipating rainfall totals above normal and possibly up to twice the average in some areas. It also anticipated “limited drying opportunities”.

This effectively brought the spreading period to an early close, Cooney said.