A major tightening up on slurry exports has been flagged by the Department of Agriculture at recent training events for private farm consultants.
Large slurry volumes moving from Cork as far north as Donegal have been recorded on the AgFood website and were cited by Department officials in advisor training as being a source of concern.
New rules introduced in 2025 require farmers exporting organic manures to record such movements within four days of the materials leaving their yards.
The importing farmer must confirm and verify such movements have taken place. Movements from 1 January to 30 June annually must be verified by the importing farmer by 14 July.
Movements from 1 July to 31 December annually must be verified by 14 January in the subsequent year.
Strict
It is envisaged that a strict application of the new rules will act as a deterrent to fictitious slurry movements where farmers are seeking to circumvent the nitrates regulations.
At a nitrates regulations information meeting in Mayo this week for Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) members, Cavan-based consultant Tom Canning urged colleagues to be vigilant for fictitious slurry movements.
“The four-day rule allows sufficient time for inspections by local authorities or Department of Agriculture inspectors to verify slurry movements have taken place,” Canning pointed out.
“If, in the event that no slurry movements have taken place, or the volumes recorded on the AgFood system are not apparent on the ground, the importing and exporting farmers may face serious sanctions from the Department of Agriculture,” he warned.
“Advisors also face possible suspension or the removal of their farm advisory accreditation, effectively wiping out their businesses,” Canning said.
However, Canning claimed that the fear of inspection was also limiting the volume of slurry that farmers could potentially import.
A study of his firm’s 527 farmer clients indicated that they could potentially import four million tonnes of slurry each year but they only imported 300,000 tonnes last year, Canning said.
Off-grid farmers won’t escape nitrates rules
Farmers who move outside the direct payments system must still comply with the nitrates regulations and the rules relating to stocking rates and the various water quality directives, a leading farm consultant has warned.
Cavan-based farm adviser Tom Canning told a meeting this week that going “off grid” in terms of EU payments did not give individuals a licence to farm as they wished and could in fact “red flag” the holding for a Department of Agriculture or local authority inspection.
Canning pointed out that all farmers have to adhere to Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) rules and are thereby subject to Department or local authority inspection whether or not they are in receipt of direct payments.
“If a farmer does not apply for BISS [Basic Income Support for Sustainability] in 2026, and sell their entitlements, they are still obliged to comply with the 170kg/ha stocking rate limit,” he told an information meeting for Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) members on the nitrates regulations.
“If they were to do this, they will also risk being flagged for inspection by the local authority and/or the Department of Agriculture, and face prosecution by their local authority if found to be exceeding stocking rate limits and contributing to a deterioration of water quality in their area,”
Canning added.
The Cavan-based consultant was responding to comments from other advisors at the information meeting in Balla, Co Mayo that there was mounting farmer frustration at the level of inspections taking place.
One advisor cited the example of a client who had a cross-compliance inspection on Monday, a Bord Bia inspection on Tuesday and a local authority inspection on Wednesday.
Council inspections in Mayo to double
Farm inspections by local authority staff are set to increase from 66 to over 150 in Mayo this year, officials with the Mayo County Council’s environment section told a meeting of farm consultants this week.
The increase is in line with national trends, with local authority farm inspections set to increase from 2,500 last year to over 4,500 in 2026.
Elaine Rowley and Killian Farrell of the Mayo County Council’s environment section insisted that their aim is to work with farmers.
Of the 66 farms inspected in 2025, 28 were fully compliant, while 38 had non-compliances.
Many of the non-compliances were minor and easily fixed, the council officials described some as “significant”.
When asked to differentiate between minor and major non-compliances, the officials said broken rainwater chutes would constitute a minor but insufficient slurry storage was considered a major.
In her presentation to farm consultants, Rowley explained that farms were not randomly selected for inspection.
Inspections were focused on river catchment assessments where agriculture was considered a “significant pressure”.
Between 10 and 20 farms are inspected in each catchment, she said, with the farms selected on the basis of livestock numbers, stocking rate, farmyard location, proximity to waterways, soil type, groundwater vulnerability and pollution impact potential maps.
Both Rowley and Farrell insisted that the council were generally flexible with farmers in terms of addressing problems identified in inspections.
However, if there was no willingness on the part of the farmer to engage or to remedy problems that were identified in an inspection, then penalties would follow, they maintained.
Farmers found spreading slurry during the closed period will face immediate sanction and penalties, Farrell insisted.
“Spreading slurry in the closed period is a red card offence. The spreading dates are well set out and known,” he said.
Environment and water the new quota
Stricter environmental regulations and tighter rules around water quality was effectively the new quota for farmers, an information meeting for farm consultants was told this week.
The new nitrates regulations included in the latest Nitrates Action Plan would not only impact highly-stocked intensive farmers but would filter down to extensive livestock holdings, well-known agricultural consultant Tom Canning told those in attendance.
The former president of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) cautioned that 2026 was going to be a very challenging year for consultants and farmers given the changed nitrates regulations, the tighter rules around the movement of slurry – both internally on fragmented farms and exports off-farm – and the greater emphasis on water quality that was required to support Ireland’s retention of the nitrates derogation.
Canning urged the consultants present at the Balla, Co Mayo meeting to get as many of their clients as possible to complete nutrient management plans.
A major tightening up on slurry exports has been flagged by the Department of Agriculture at recent training events for private farm consultants.
Large slurry volumes moving from Cork as far north as Donegal have been recorded on the AgFood website and were cited by Department officials in advisor training as being a source of concern.
New rules introduced in 2025 require farmers exporting organic manures to record such movements within four days of the materials leaving their yards.
The importing farmer must confirm and verify such movements have taken place. Movements from 1 January to 30 June annually must be verified by the importing farmer by 14 July.
Movements from 1 July to 31 December annually must be verified by 14 January in the subsequent year.
Strict
It is envisaged that a strict application of the new rules will act as a deterrent to fictitious slurry movements where farmers are seeking to circumvent the nitrates regulations.
At a nitrates regulations information meeting in Mayo this week for Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) members, Cavan-based consultant Tom Canning urged colleagues to be vigilant for fictitious slurry movements.
“The four-day rule allows sufficient time for inspections by local authorities or Department of Agriculture inspectors to verify slurry movements have taken place,” Canning pointed out.
“If, in the event that no slurry movements have taken place, or the volumes recorded on the AgFood system are not apparent on the ground, the importing and exporting farmers may face serious sanctions from the Department of Agriculture,” he warned.
“Advisors also face possible suspension or the removal of their farm advisory accreditation, effectively wiping out their businesses,” Canning said.
However, Canning claimed that the fear of inspection was also limiting the volume of slurry that farmers could potentially import.
A study of his firm’s 527 farmer clients indicated that they could potentially import four million tonnes of slurry each year but they only imported 300,000 tonnes last year, Canning said.
Off-grid farmers won’t escape nitrates rules
Farmers who move outside the direct payments system must still comply with the nitrates regulations and the rules relating to stocking rates and the various water quality directives, a leading farm consultant has warned.
Cavan-based farm adviser Tom Canning told a meeting this week that going “off grid” in terms of EU payments did not give individuals a licence to farm as they wished and could in fact “red flag” the holding for a Department of Agriculture or local authority inspection.
Canning pointed out that all farmers have to adhere to Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) rules and are thereby subject to Department or local authority inspection whether or not they are in receipt of direct payments.
“If a farmer does not apply for BISS [Basic Income Support for Sustainability] in 2026, and sell their entitlements, they are still obliged to comply with the 170kg/ha stocking rate limit,” he told an information meeting for Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) members on the nitrates regulations.
“If they were to do this, they will also risk being flagged for inspection by the local authority and/or the Department of Agriculture, and face prosecution by their local authority if found to be exceeding stocking rate limits and contributing to a deterioration of water quality in their area,”
Canning added.
The Cavan-based consultant was responding to comments from other advisors at the information meeting in Balla, Co Mayo that there was mounting farmer frustration at the level of inspections taking place.
One advisor cited the example of a client who had a cross-compliance inspection on Monday, a Bord Bia inspection on Tuesday and a local authority inspection on Wednesday.
Council inspections in Mayo to double
Farm inspections by local authority staff are set to increase from 66 to over 150 in Mayo this year, officials with the Mayo County Council’s environment section told a meeting of farm consultants this week.
The increase is in line with national trends, with local authority farm inspections set to increase from 2,500 last year to over 4,500 in 2026.
Elaine Rowley and Killian Farrell of the Mayo County Council’s environment section insisted that their aim is to work with farmers.
Of the 66 farms inspected in 2025, 28 were fully compliant, while 38 had non-compliances.
Many of the non-compliances were minor and easily fixed, the council officials described some as “significant”.
When asked to differentiate between minor and major non-compliances, the officials said broken rainwater chutes would constitute a minor but insufficient slurry storage was considered a major.
In her presentation to farm consultants, Rowley explained that farms were not randomly selected for inspection.
Inspections were focused on river catchment assessments where agriculture was considered a “significant pressure”.
Between 10 and 20 farms are inspected in each catchment, she said, with the farms selected on the basis of livestock numbers, stocking rate, farmyard location, proximity to waterways, soil type, groundwater vulnerability and pollution impact potential maps.
Both Rowley and Farrell insisted that the council were generally flexible with farmers in terms of addressing problems identified in inspections.
However, if there was no willingness on the part of the farmer to engage or to remedy problems that were identified in an inspection, then penalties would follow, they maintained.
Farmers found spreading slurry during the closed period will face immediate sanction and penalties, Farrell insisted.
“Spreading slurry in the closed period is a red card offence. The spreading dates are well set out and known,” he said.
Environment and water the new quota
Stricter environmental regulations and tighter rules around water quality was effectively the new quota for farmers, an information meeting for farm consultants was told this week.
The new nitrates regulations included in the latest Nitrates Action Plan would not only impact highly-stocked intensive farmers but would filter down to extensive livestock holdings, well-known agricultural consultant Tom Canning told those in attendance.
The former president of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) cautioned that 2026 was going to be a very challenging year for consultants and farmers given the changed nitrates regulations, the tighter rules around the movement of slurry – both internally on fragmented farms and exports off-farm – and the greater emphasis on water quality that was required to support Ireland’s retention of the nitrates derogation.
Canning urged the consultants present at the Balla, Co Mayo meeting to get as many of their clients as possible to complete nutrient management plans.
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