An increase in the minimum slurry storage space required on dairy farms proposed in the state’s new nitrates action programme (NAP) will leave the average 100-cow dairy herd facing a bill of around €21,000 to upgrade storage.
The proposed sixth NAP setting out a raft of tighter nitrates measures went out to public consultation on Tuesday.
The programme, proposed to come into effect in 2026, looks to lift the minimum slurry storage required on dairy farms from 0.33m³ per cow per week to 0.40m³ from 2028.
These higher storage figure emerged from Teagasc research that found the current levels of slurry produced on the average dairy farm are 21% higher than existing regulatory values.
The plan states that the construction of this additional slurry storage on farms may be grant aided by Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS), “subject to the available budget” for the scheme.
It has also been proposed that, for the first time ever, derogation dairy farmers’ chemical fertiliser limits on the grazing platform will differ based on these lands’ stocking rates, as well as the proportion of slurry produced on the farm that is applied to the milking platform.
Milking platform
The milking platform will be defined as lands within 3km of the parlour to which cows can walk.
The move will effectively reduce the nitrogen allowance of the milking platform for farmers who cannot prove that at least some slurry is being spread on outblocks.
To assess compliance, farmers will have to self-declare milking platforms.
The previous year’s stocking rate data will also determine how much of the slurry needs to be moved to outblocks in order to avoid cuts to chemical nitrogen allowances, the proposals state.
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