The Department of Agriculture have granted an extension for applications to be made for a Nitrates derogation for the coming year. The new deadline is midnight Friday, 22 April, an eight-day extension.
With the original deadline of Thursday 14 April little more than 48 hours away, both Teagasc and private planners were reporting that many applicants would be left outside the system, as the Department’s system repeatedly broke down.
The portal for derogation applications had only opened following the belated securing of the Nitrates derogation for 2022 thorugh to 2025 in mid-March.
Planners worked through the weekend, putting in long hours as the portal seemed easier to work with out of hours at night and weekends. The system had broken down on both Friday and Monday.
Frustration grew among planners as initial requests for an extension were not getting a response that reflected the urgency of the situation. That all seemed to change on Tuesday, with word filtering through that a decision would be made. It duly came around lunchtime, with an extension of eight days. However, half of this time is across the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Over 6,500 dairy, suckler and cattle farmers applied for the derogation last year. Because of the changes in organic nitrogen ratings included in the new Nitrates Directive, quite a number of farmers will need to apply for the derogation for the first time, as the new values will have raised their OrgN to above the 170kg/ha limit. This has placed extra pressure on planners, some of whom say they have as many as 20 extra clients who need to apply for a derogation this year.
A parallel extension to 22 April is in place for the submission of fertiliser accounts from farmers that were in derogation in 2021.
