New rules are set to seriously restrict or even halt the movement of slurry between more than 30,000 farms.
The clampdown, coming into force from 1 January, will curb the ability of lower-stocked livestock farms and tillage holdings to take in slurry.
The changes could affect up to 25,000 dairy and beef farmers as well as 5,000 cereal growers and will force many highly stocked dairy and beef farms to significantly cut livestock numbers to meet tighter nitrates regulations.
The new rules will also have serious implications for the country’s 400 pig producers by restricting their access to land for slurry.
Under the changed slurry regime, all cereal growers and livestock farmers stocked higher than 130kg of organic nitrogen per hectare (two cows/ha) must carry out soil sampling and have a nutrient management plan.
Farms who do not carry out soil sampling will be automatically deemed to be at phosphorus index 4 and, therefore, will be unable to purchase chemical phosphorus or import slurry.
Low emission slurry spreading (LESS) also becomes mandatory for farms stocked above 150kg organic nitrogen per hectare from 1 January.
Meanwhile, the new national database recording all fertiliser sales will come into effect within days.
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