The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to clarify if dribble bars will be included under the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) that will operate as part of the 2023-2027 CAP plan.

It claimed that dribble bars had helped lower ammonia emissions from slurry spreading and had been a popular low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) option in TAMS.

“Dribble bars have proved to be a very popular investment item among farmers since their inclusion under TAMS and have played a significant part in reducing ammonia emissions from slurry spreading,” said IFA rural development chair Michael Biggins.

Biggins stated that other LESS equipment options may not be suitable to all farm types or farmers’ tractors.

Rougher land

“Trailing shoe slurry tankers require higher-horsepower tractors, burning more diesel to drive them, and are not suitable for rougher land on which dribble bars will still operate.

"Removing dribble bars from the list of eligible TAMS investments would be a significant step backwards from an environmental point of view and will discourage many farmers from investing in LESS equipment.”

The rural development chair also said that some farmers planning on buying dribble bars had postponed their investments in anticipation of revised costings and a higher rate of grant aid.

“With tranche 28 of the current TAMS II due to close on Friday 16 December, it’s vital that farmers receive clarification as soon as possible.”