From 13 January, farmers in Zone A, which includes counties Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow, will be permitted to apply slurry and farmyard manure.

The opening period for spreading chemical fertiliser is later than normal from 2023, with the opening season commencing on 27 January for farmers in these counties.

Meanwhile, farmers in Zone B, which includes counties Clare, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath, have to wait a few days longer before they can spread slurry.

The opening period for slurry and farmyard manure in these counties is from 16 January and they have to wait until 30 January before they can apply chemical fertilisers.

Zone C

Farmers in Donegal, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan cannot apply slurry and farmyard manure until 1 February and cannot apply chemical fertiliser until 15 February.

It is important to note that the end of the prohibited period for slurry spreading doesn’t necessarily mean that slurry can be spread from these dates, as it is prohibited to apply slurry when heavy rain is forecast.

With the price of nitrogen fertiliser still extremely high, getting as much value from slurry and organic fertilisers as possible is very important, so farmers are encouraged to delay application to the time when uptake of nutrients is higher and the risk of losses is minimised.