The focus on water quality is ever growing on Irish farms. However, if you farm on the edge of a lake then that focus is larger.
This is the case for Timmy Quinn, a dairy farmer from Castlecarra in Co Mayo, who farms 40ha on the edge of Lough Carra. He also has another 40ha farm a short distance away where he is milking on a second block.
Lough Carra is one of the most important marl-bottomed lakes in Europe. It feeds into Lough Mask, which supplies drinking water for a large portion of the county. For these reasons, there is an increased focus on water quality in the lake.
I would hate to be the one who would be responsible for the water quality deteriorating
“I grew up fishing on the lake,” Timmy explains. “I would always have been conscious that we are farming so close to it and that what we do on the farm could have an effect on the water in the lake. I would hate to be the one who would be responsible for the water quality deteriorating.
“The lake currently has a good water status, according to the latest EPA report, but local environmentalists say there is clear evidence of nutrient enrichment. In order to get improvement we need to have a good buy-in from farmers,” according to Peter Comer, one of 20 Teagasc advisers involved with the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP).
The aim with these advisers is to work with farmers to develop a farm-specific plan to prevent nutrient run-off and protect water quality.
“The lakes themselves are fed through a mixture of in-flowing streams and groundwater and with a large portion of the land surrounding the lake displaying karst-type features, it means that nutrients could move down through the soil very easily if not properly managed,” Peter says.
The area generally has free-draining light soils where nitrate leaching is the biggest concern, with phosphorus run-off more of an issue when it comes to wet soils. “That’s the theory” says Peter, but “results from the nearby Creggduff Catchment experimental site show that leaching and run-off from farming in a karst area is much less than what one would have expected”.
Simple approaches
“We would always have taken a commonsense approach to things like spreading slurry and fertiliser on the farm,” Timmy says.
“We wouldn’t go out spreading if rain was forecast and we would always stay out of the wetter parts of the farm. We see the value of the nutrients.”
As part of the ASSAP, Peter has carried out a detailed report on the farm and highlighted areas that need addressing to ensure there is no nutrient run-off.
Buffer zones are one of the big areas of focus in the west
Adhering to buffer zones, not just from drains but wet areas of the farm, is one key issue that Peter has encountered on western farms.
“Buffer zones are one of the big areas of focus in the west. There are drains everywhere but there are also wet spots on the farm that buffer zones should also be attached to,” Peter says.
Actions
Through being involved in the programme, Peter has identified several areas on the farm that need action.
Picture one: the first area that needs to be addressed is a stone drain on the farm. “A stone drain filled to the surface can be very vulnerable. You have to treat it as if it is an open drain,” Peter explains. “This can act as a direct loss pathway for nutrients or pesticide. The best approach that could be taken with this is to remove some stone at the top of the drain and install a foot of top soil. The only other option is to fence it off and treat it like an open drain in terms of buffer zones.”
Picture two.
Pictures two and three: another area for action on the farm is a crossing of a drain. While there is a bridge going over the drain, it is at a low point, with the road sloping down on both sides. “The best option here is to camber the road to either side, as it approaches the bridge. This will ensure only the minimum amount of dirty water actually reaches the bridge,” Peter says.
Picture three.
“The next thing to do is to put a ridge along either edge of the bridge to prevent any possible run-off from the roadway.”
Picture four.
Picture four: while the majority of the drains running through the farm are fenced there are several that need attention. “There are just a few areas where cattle can get access to the drains and Timmy has made a commitment to fence these off. He is not doing anything wrong when it comes to cross compliance but it can have an effect when it comes to water quality,” Peter explains. This will be a compulsory measure by 2021 in the new nitrates regulations.
There are several drains on the farm that are dry currently but Peter has recommended that these should also be fenced as livestock can soil these drains and then when water levels rise a run-off of nutrients to a water body could potentially occur.
Drainage
“Drainage can be a double-edged sword,” Peter says. “It can get rid of moisture from the land which will make fields more productive and better able to utilise nutrients and decrease the risk of overland flow. Often, however, when a drain is cleaned there will be a big release of sediment which makes its way into rivers and lakes. Also, drains act as a direct pathway for nutrients or pesticide to escape. “Sediment can be as bad as N or P when it comes to biological life.”
One possible solution is to drop a straw bale into the end of the drain when carrying out maintenance. This allows water to move through, but holds back sediment. When the sediment has settled again, the bale can be removed.
Buffer zones
A standard buffer zone to any surface water is 5m when spreading organic fertiliser. This increases to 10m where the slope towards the water course is more than 10%. Buffer zones increase from 5m to 10m for the two weeks before and after the prohibited spreading period. The buffer zones for the spreading of chemical fertiliser is 2m. Through examining the farm, Peter has identified wet areas where buffer zones should also be applied, so that pathways for nutrient loss can be minimised.
Timmy Quinn (left) with Peter Comer, Teagasc advisor.
“We would always have a focus on water quality and preventing run-off on the farm but there is always so much going on on-farms that a fresh pair of eyes can make a lot of difference around the farm,” Timmy says. “It’s not about making big sweeping changes but focusing on the small actions that can make a difference.
“Everything won’t be done in the first year but we have a list of actions to carry out that we can work through.”
The focus on water quality is ever growing on Irish farms. However, if you farm on the edge of a lake then that focus is larger.
This is the case for Timmy Quinn, a dairy farmer from Castlecarra in Co Mayo, who farms 40ha on the edge of Lough Carra. He also has another 40ha farm a short distance away where he is milking on a second block.
Lough Carra is one of the most important marl-bottomed lakes in Europe. It feeds into Lough Mask, which supplies drinking water for a large portion of the county. For these reasons, there is an increased focus on water quality in the lake.
I would hate to be the one who would be responsible for the water quality deteriorating
“I grew up fishing on the lake,” Timmy explains. “I would always have been conscious that we are farming so close to it and that what we do on the farm could have an effect on the water in the lake. I would hate to be the one who would be responsible for the water quality deteriorating.
“The lake currently has a good water status, according to the latest EPA report, but local environmentalists say there is clear evidence of nutrient enrichment. In order to get improvement we need to have a good buy-in from farmers,” according to Peter Comer, one of 20 Teagasc advisers involved with the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP).
The aim with these advisers is to work with farmers to develop a farm-specific plan to prevent nutrient run-off and protect water quality.
“The lakes themselves are fed through a mixture of in-flowing streams and groundwater and with a large portion of the land surrounding the lake displaying karst-type features, it means that nutrients could move down through the soil very easily if not properly managed,” Peter says.
The area generally has free-draining light soils where nitrate leaching is the biggest concern, with phosphorus run-off more of an issue when it comes to wet soils. “That’s the theory” says Peter, but “results from the nearby Creggduff Catchment experimental site show that leaching and run-off from farming in a karst area is much less than what one would have expected”.
Simple approaches
“We would always have taken a commonsense approach to things like spreading slurry and fertiliser on the farm,” Timmy says.
“We wouldn’t go out spreading if rain was forecast and we would always stay out of the wetter parts of the farm. We see the value of the nutrients.”
As part of the ASSAP, Peter has carried out a detailed report on the farm and highlighted areas that need addressing to ensure there is no nutrient run-off.
Buffer zones are one of the big areas of focus in the west
Adhering to buffer zones, not just from drains but wet areas of the farm, is one key issue that Peter has encountered on western farms.
“Buffer zones are one of the big areas of focus in the west. There are drains everywhere but there are also wet spots on the farm that buffer zones should also be attached to,” Peter says.
Actions
Through being involved in the programme, Peter has identified several areas on the farm that need action.
Picture one: the first area that needs to be addressed is a stone drain on the farm. “A stone drain filled to the surface can be very vulnerable. You have to treat it as if it is an open drain,” Peter explains. “This can act as a direct loss pathway for nutrients or pesticide. The best approach that could be taken with this is to remove some stone at the top of the drain and install a foot of top soil. The only other option is to fence it off and treat it like an open drain in terms of buffer zones.”
Picture two.
Pictures two and three: another area for action on the farm is a crossing of a drain. While there is a bridge going over the drain, it is at a low point, with the road sloping down on both sides. “The best option here is to camber the road to either side, as it approaches the bridge. This will ensure only the minimum amount of dirty water actually reaches the bridge,” Peter says.
Picture three.
“The next thing to do is to put a ridge along either edge of the bridge to prevent any possible run-off from the roadway.”
Picture four.
Picture four: while the majority of the drains running through the farm are fenced there are several that need attention. “There are just a few areas where cattle can get access to the drains and Timmy has made a commitment to fence these off. He is not doing anything wrong when it comes to cross compliance but it can have an effect when it comes to water quality,” Peter explains. This will be a compulsory measure by 2021 in the new nitrates regulations.
There are several drains on the farm that are dry currently but Peter has recommended that these should also be fenced as livestock can soil these drains and then when water levels rise a run-off of nutrients to a water body could potentially occur.
Drainage
“Drainage can be a double-edged sword,” Peter says. “It can get rid of moisture from the land which will make fields more productive and better able to utilise nutrients and decrease the risk of overland flow. Often, however, when a drain is cleaned there will be a big release of sediment which makes its way into rivers and lakes. Also, drains act as a direct pathway for nutrients or pesticide to escape. “Sediment can be as bad as N or P when it comes to biological life.”
One possible solution is to drop a straw bale into the end of the drain when carrying out maintenance. This allows water to move through, but holds back sediment. When the sediment has settled again, the bale can be removed.
Buffer zones
A standard buffer zone to any surface water is 5m when spreading organic fertiliser. This increases to 10m where the slope towards the water course is more than 10%. Buffer zones increase from 5m to 10m for the two weeks before and after the prohibited spreading period. The buffer zones for the spreading of chemical fertiliser is 2m. Through examining the farm, Peter has identified wet areas where buffer zones should also be applied, so that pathways for nutrient loss can be minimised.
Timmy Quinn (left) with Peter Comer, Teagasc advisor.
“We would always have a focus on water quality and preventing run-off on the farm but there is always so much going on on-farms that a fresh pair of eyes can make a lot of difference around the farm,” Timmy says. “It’s not about making big sweeping changes but focusing on the small actions that can make a difference.
“Everything won’t be done in the first year but we have a list of actions to carry out that we can work through.”
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: