Thousands of farmers moved to avoid a nitrates penalty in the final days of 2017. The Nitrates section of the Department of Agriculture was inundated with slurry movement forms right through the holiday period, up until the 31 December deadline. Forms could be emailed or posted, with huge volumes of forms in both formats. As forms are processed, the Department will be confirming the transfer of nutrients on both farmers’ N & P statements on the agfood portal. Farmers are advised to watch for confirmation of the movement being processed.

For 2018, farmers are encouraged to submit forms as soon as slurry export takes place. Under the new Nitrates Action Plan, slurry imports can be based on the nitrates profile of a farm in 2017. The nitrates profile of farms will be determined for all farms shortly, allowing farmers to plan the import of FYM, cattle or pig slurry. Importing farmers are reminded to ensure that they do not inadvertently breach phosphates limits.

All land too wet for slurry

Avalanche of slurry movement submissions

Thousands for farmers forwarded slurry movement submissions in the dying days of 2017