There is growing optimism that a new Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) should be in place by the end of the year.
Addressing farmers at the Slurry Live event held at the Eikon Centre, Kellie McEvoy from the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) said the draft regulations are currently being finalised, before going to the Stormont Agriculture committee for scrutiny.
“The proposals are not in law just yet, but close to finalisation and hopefully we should see a new NAP before Christmas,” she said.
Back in May 2025, DAERA faced a significant backlash from farmers after publishing plans for a revised NAP.
That backlash led to the creation of a new Task and Finish Group, which brought together farming organisations, processors, environmental bodies and government to re-consider the proposals.
A DAERA public consultation on the output from that group concluded in early September 2026.
McEvoy described the original 2025 plan as “unworkable”, adding that the Task and Finish Group managed to take NAP “to an extremely better place”.
Despite that, the new NAP will still bring some significant changes for farmers, with an increased focus on nutrient management planning, more scrutiny around slurry movements off farms and a switch to using protected urea. However, McEvoy said “the most significant change” is the introduction of a new Nutrient Stewardship Programme (NSP) for farms stocked at over 170kg manure nitrogen per hectare.
In recent weeks there have been some concerns around whether the NSP would proceed as envisaged after the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) raised issues with Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir.
In particular, the OEP had highlighted a risk that by introducing the NSP, it would allow more farms to operate at over 170kg N/ha, resulting in increased emissions from these farms. In response to that letter, Minister Muir had flagged in the Stormont Assembly chamber at the end of September that the final NAP proposals will need further amendments.
It is understood that following on from various meetings, any final changes will now be minor.
In the background there is also a court case brought by a Lough Neagh eel fisherman Declan Conlon. He has taken a judicial review against DAERA, arguing that the department continues to rely on inadequate plans and unenforced regimes to manage pollution. That case is due to be heard in the new year.
