No clarity on planned cut to fertiliser limits

Farmers have yet to receive any definitive clarity on planned changes to fertiliser and nitrates rules set to enter into force from January of next year as the midterm review of the fifth Nitrates Action Programme drags on.

The direction of travel this review is likely to take was flagged by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue as far back as February, but the public consultation needed to update the regulations has not yet been opened.

Any proposed changes must be opened to consultation for a one-month window and any submissions received taken on board before the proposals can take effect.

Earlier this year, the minister signposted a proposed cut to chemical fertiliser allowances for grassland, a slight easing of the excretion values applied to some categories of livestock and a clampdown on slurry exports.

A lack of progress with the review has left farmers uncertain in calculating 2024 stocking rates, as the lower excretion figures proposed for youngstock and feeding lower crude protein meal will not be in force until after all environmental assessments take place and the consultation process is completed.

The minister clarified last month that current fertiliser limits will also remain in place for this year, but did not clarify the size of the reduction planned for 2025, or whether it is to apply to all farmers or just those in derogation.

The possibility of a 5% further cut to chemical nitrogen after the midterm review was flagged when the Nitrates Action Programme was published in 2022, with this to be applied on top of the 10% cut pushed through at the time.

However, the Nitrates Expert Group advising the minister has stated that the reduction for the midterm review should be strengthened to a cut of 10% for 2025 on derogation farms, followed by another 10% cut in 2026.

Should these recommendations enter into force, derogation farmers would see the fertiliser goalposts shift twice in just two years.

Additional post-2025 proposals put forward by the expert group include introducing slurry spreading limits on grazing platforms, a national feed database to track concentrate purchases and restrictions on the use of regular urea from next January.

GPS units

It has advised that the Department explores how best to use GPS units to track slurry exports in real time. New slurry and soiled water storage requirements which will likely require more tank storage space per head will be in play from 2026, this inter-departmental group has also said.