The reviewed Nitrates Action Programme for 2015-2018 came into effect on 1 January last year and now requires farmers to summit records of exports of organic manures to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) by 31 January for the previous calendar year.

NIEA have said that failure to do this will mean that organic manure export records will not be taken into consideration when calculating nitrogen loading. This could then put a farm over the maximum limit of 170 kg/ha which will lead to penalties.

Records of exports must include the date of movement, type of livestock manure, quantity of manure in tonnes or cubic metres, the transporter's name and address, and the importers name and the importer’s business ID or else the importer’s address and signature.

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Under the previous Nitrates Action Programme from 2011-2014, a record of all organic manure exports off the farm only had to be recorded and available during an inspection.

In a statement reminding farmers of the changes, the UFU also highlighted that some farmers may have a higher nitrogen loading this year due to loss of rented land due to the new CAP scheme. This means that farm businesses need to calculate nitrogen loading carefully in case it puts them over the 170 kg/ha limit.