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The number of applications for a nitrates derogation has fallen for the second successive year.
For 2020, the Department of Agriculture received applications from 6,494 farms, a reduction of almost 200 farms. The window for applications closed last Friday 24 April.
A nitrates derogation allows a farm to be stocked at a higher rate of 250kg N/ha rather than the standard limit of 170kg N/ha.
Derogation farms will be subject to new rules this year following a review of the conditions of the derogation by the Department.
Details on the new rules can be found here. Between 2014 and 2017, the number of farms applying for a derogation steadily rose from 5,800 to 7,000. Since then, it has reduced to pre-2016 levels.
However, while the number of farms applying has fallen, the area under derogation and the farm size has continued to rise, reaching 445,200ha last year.
Penalties
There were 66 farmers who held a derogation in 2018 penalised last year for breaching nitrates regulation. The average penalty for these farmers was 1% of their direct payment and the most common breach was exceeding the 250kg N/ha limit.
The Department of Agriculture has begun validation checks for the 2019 derogation after the deadline for submissions of fertiliser accounts closed last Friday.
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