The Department of Agriculture is working to set up a national feed database by 2026, which is being pitched as an “important component” of reducing nutrient surpluses on farmland and improving water qualitythe Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

The Department told the Nitrates Expert Group that it is progressing the proposal “immediately” as primary legislation may be required and “this will take time”.

The feed database will be set alongside the national fertiliser database established this year and would allow for State-level targets to be imposed on the nutrient loading of individual river catchments.

The Nitrates Expert Group has also agreed to recommend a reduction in the allowed crude protein concentrate to 14% or less on farms stocked at a rate of 130kg N/ha and above from next year. It appears this proposal is on the table for 2024.

It can be presumed this recommendation is to apply only to dairy cows and from 15 April to 30 September, as is the case with the concentrate feed requirement currently in play for some farmers, but this was not clarified in the group meeting minutes.

Another proposal will seek to see clover included in all perennial ryegrass reseeds, not just those on derogation farms.