Interim bovine nitrogen and phosphorus statements for the period 1 January to 31 July 2025 have been published on the Department of Agriculture’s online system, www.agfood.ie.

The Department is encouraging all farmers with cattle on their holdings to check their interim statement as the revised bovine excretion rates, introduced in February of this year, are now applicable. This will result in significant changes for some farmers, it advised.

“Appropriate adjustments have also been applied for dairy farmers that have opted to manage crude protein in the concentrates fed to their cows this year.

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“A small minority of dairy farmers who have not confirmed their herd’s dairy cow band for 2025 have been defaulted to the highest band of 106kg N/cow.

“As per previous communication from the Department to these farmers, in the event that the highest band is not appropriate, they should confirm the correct band as appropriate to their herd,” the Department added.

Delay

On Wednesday, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) said that the delay in finalising the interim statements had left farmers and advisers without the information and clarity needed to plan effectively for compliance as they entered the final weeks to export slurry and adjust cattle numbers or take temporary grazing.