Agricultural consultants have warned of deepening problems with slurry storage on farms, as tanks are filling fast and extremely poor ground conditions have ruled out spreading.

Cavan-based adviser Tom Canning said slurry storage was the most critical concern facing farmers at the moment, particularly those in the south and the east.

The Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) said there were options open to farmers, but extreme care had to be taken to prevent leaching of slurry into waterways.

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Canning said farmers could spread low volumes of slurry on the driest area of their farms, but cautioned that a 10m buffer zone where no slurry was applied had to be kept along any drains or streams.

Canning also urged farmers to see if any neighbours, particularly organic farmers, had spare capacity to take slurry into their tanks or dry land on which it could be spread.

As a last resort, Canning said farmers could attempt to source storage bags as a temporary solution.

Exceptional

While accepting that rainfall levels over the last five weeks have been exceptional, Canning said the current difficulties highlighted the ongoing problems on a proportion of livestock farms regarding slurry storage.

He claimed time was running out for farmers with inadequate slurry storage capacity.

The introduction of the new slurry excretion rate for dairy cows of 0.4m3/cow/week under the sixth Nitrates Action Programme meant that additional storage was required right across the industry, Canning pointed out.

The additional storage requirement will range from around 100m3 to 120m3, and must be in place by 2028.

“In practical terms, this is equivalent to a 19.2m slatted tank, 2.4m deep, and 3.2m wide for a farmer in Cavan,” he explained.

Significantly

Along with the more stringent requirements, there will be significantly more inspections, Canning maintained.

As well as the Department inspections, the local authority inspection regime is set to increase in scope from 2,700 farm visits last year to 4,500 in 2026.

“Of the 2,700 inspections completed by local authorities in 2025, approximately 1,300 farms were found to be non-compliant, with issues ranging from minor non-compliance, such as guttering needing repair, to serious nutrient losses to local water bodies,” Canning said.

“A total of 149 inspected farms were cross reported to the Department of Agriculture, for sanctions to be applied to support payments,” he added.