The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has indicated that under the Nitrates Directive, spreading organic manures using the jetter that some slurry tankers have is forbidden. See italicised text below.You can move slurry to a neighbour’s slurry tank but it would be advisable to ensure that neither farm has any TB issues and if TB is present on either farm, then the local DVO should be contacted in advance of any slurry movement.Moving slurry to another farmer’s yard may require a DAFM Record 5 to be completed and submitted to DAFM Johnstown Castle if the slurry is then spread on the neighbour’s farm during the year.Spreading organic manures best practice is outlined below and the issue of land saturation before spreading should be checked to avoid overland flow.Some farmers/contractors are using umbilical systems to spread slurry and this will allow trafficability on heavy soil and care needs to be taken not to spread more than 2,000 gallons ac for all spreading systems and good advice would be to increase the buffer distances below.In all situations, the spreading of fertiliser and organic manures must comply with the Nitrates Directive.Precautions you must take when you are applying fertilisers.
In order to prevent waters from being polluted by nitrogen and phosphorus, the regulations require that you must do the following:
You must spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure and other organic fertilisers, effluents and soiled water as accurately and as evenly as you can.You must not use an upward-facing splash plate or sludge irrigator on a tanker or umbilical system for spreading organic fertiliser or soiled water.You must not spread organic fertilisers or soiled water from a road or passageway, even if the road or passageway is on your own holding.You must not spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure, soiled water or other organic fertilisers when:
- The land is waterlogged;
- The land is flooded, or it is likely to flood;
- The land is frozen, or covered with snow;
- Heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours (you must check the forecasts from Met Éireann).
- The ground slopes steeply and there is a risk of water pollution, when factors such as surface run-off pathways, the presence of land drains, the absence of hedgerows to mitigate surface flow, soil condition and ground cover are taken into account.
You must not spread chemical fertiliser on land within 2m of a surface watercourse.The following table shows the different buffer zones for various water bodies (lakes, rivers, wells, etc). You must not spread soiled water, effluents, farmyard manures or other organic fertilisers inside these buffer zones. Buffer zones for spreading organic fertilisers:
*The 5m buffer zone is increased to 10m for a period of two weeks preceding and two weeks following the periods when application of fertilisers to land is prohibited as set out in Schedule 4 of the regulations. The objective of increased setback distances at the shoulders of the closed period is to help retain as much of the applied nutrient in the field as possible, thereby reducing its risk of loss through overland flow.
In the case of water for human consumption, your local authority may vary buffer widths from those specified above, and will inform you if they do so.
Read more
Slurry tank overturns in Monaghan town
Labour-saving slurry application in Limerick
Variation in the cost of slurry spreading
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has indicated that under the Nitrates Directive, spreading organic manures using the jetter that some slurry tankers have is forbidden. See italicised text below.You can move slurry to a neighbour’s slurry tank but it would be advisable to ensure that neither farm has any TB issues and if TB is present on either farm, then the local DVO should be contacted in advance of any slurry movement.Moving slurry to another farmer’s yard may require a DAFM Record 5 to be completed and submitted to DAFM Johnstown Castle if the slurry is then spread on the neighbour’s farm during the year.Spreading organic manures best practice is outlined below and the issue of land saturation before spreading should be checked to avoid overland flow.Some farmers/contractors are using umbilical systems to spread slurry and this will allow trafficability on heavy soil and care needs to be taken not to spread more than 2,000 gallons ac for all spreading systems and good advice would be to increase the buffer distances below.In all situations, the spreading of fertiliser and organic manures must comply with the Nitrates Directive.Precautions you must take when you are applying fertilisers.
In order to prevent waters from being polluted by nitrogen and phosphorus, the regulations require that you must do the following:
You must spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure and other organic fertilisers, effluents and soiled water as accurately and as evenly as you can.You must not use an upward-facing splash plate or sludge irrigator on a tanker or umbilical system for spreading organic fertiliser or soiled water.You must not spread organic fertilisers or soiled water from a road or passageway, even if the road or passageway is on your own holding.You must not spread chemical fertilisers, livestock manure, soiled water or other organic fertilisers when: - The land is waterlogged;
- The land is flooded, or it is likely to flood;
- The land is frozen, or covered with snow;
- Heavy rain is forecast within 48 hours (you must check the forecasts from Met Éireann).
- The ground slopes steeply and there is a risk of water pollution, when factors such as surface run-off pathways, the presence of land drains, the absence of hedgerows to mitigate surface flow, soil condition and ground cover are taken into account.
You must not spread chemical fertiliser on land within 2m of a surface watercourse.The following table shows the different buffer zones for various water bodies (lakes, rivers, wells, etc). You must not spread soiled water, effluents, farmyard manures or other organic fertilisers inside these buffer zones. Buffer zones for spreading organic fertilisers:
*The 5m buffer zone is increased to 10m for a period of two weeks preceding and two weeks following the periods when application of fertilisers to land is prohibited as set out in Schedule 4 of the regulations. The objective of increased setback distances at the shoulders of the closed period is to help retain as much of the applied nutrient in the field as possible, thereby reducing its risk of loss through overland flow.
In the case of water for human consumption, your local authority may vary buffer widths from those specified above, and will inform you if they do so.
Read more
Slurry tank overturns in Monaghan town
Labour-saving slurry application in Limerick
Variation in the cost of slurry spreading
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