In its annual report released this week, the Agricultural Appeals Office noted that potential penalties associated with stocking requirements under nitrates regulations made it “important that applicants are appropriately informed of the consequences of repeat offences”.

To deliver this information, the office made the following suggestion: “A text alert mechanism could be considered for nitrates and used to alert farmers of the risk of exceeding the 170kg limit or the 250kg derogation limit.”

The Department of Agriculture currently issues half-year statements and farmers can subscribe to receive a text alert when those are available at the end of July.

Animal movements

The system suggested by the Appeals Office would go one step further, delivering personalised alerts to farmers when the stocking data based on animal movements recorded on their farm indicates that they are approaching nitrate limits. It would also outline the penalties applicable.

In response, a spokesperson for the Department told the Irish Farmers Journal that such text message service has been available since 2012. "The text messages go to those farmers who are close to the limits," they said.

We will have more details about this service and its uptake so far in the coming days in the Irish Farmers Journal.

Appeals of penalties imposed on farmers’ single farm payments, because of nitrates cross-compliance issues, were by far the most common cases received by the office in 2015, with 144 cases.

Overall, it received 619 appeals last year. Some 45% were disallowed; 41% were allowed, partially allowed or led to a revision by the Department; and 14% were withdrawn, invalid or out of time.

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