The imposing of a stocking rate limit of 220kg/ha on nitrates derogation farmers could have a severe impact on any targets to increase tillage area by over 50,000ha by 2030.
The nitrates derogation limit is set to decline from 250kg/ha to 220kg/ha on foot of a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented at the Agriculture Water Quality Working Group last week.
The Government’s Climate Action Plan, which is being used to deliver legally binding targets to reduce climate emissions, aims to bring the national tillage area to 400,000ha by 2030 – an increase of 52,000ha on 2022. It also aims to increase straw incorporation levels and cover crop planting.
However, demand for land from the dairy sector looks set to put an end to those plans.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said that the area under tillage is estimated to have declined by about 1% in 2023, so that target is already under pressure.
He openly admitted two weeks ago that the possibility of new nitrates rules played a role in the decline of the tillage area this season as people prepared for a reduction in stocking rates.
These regulations have led to increased demand on rented land and a hike in land rental prices.
Survey of tillage farmers
A survey carried out by the Irish Farmers Journal in February showed that 37% of tillage farmers lost leased land from their systems this year. Forty-seven per cent of those farmers said they could not afford to pay the new, higher price. And it should be noted that this was coming off a good financial year in 2022.
Some 65% of those surveyed noted that a dairy farmer had secured the land that they had lost. Unfortunately, of those with leases expiring in 2023, 54% said that they did not expect to hold on to this land.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) for 2022 showed that 48% of tillage farms leased land in 2022.
There looks to be a lot of unknowns in water quality data and when data can impact on the agricultural sector so severely we need to make sure it is based on accurate science. For instance, is agriculture the cause of poor water quality in a certain area?
Many areas with poor water quality, according to the EPA’s report look to be areas that do not have highly stocked farms or intense use of chemical fertiliser.
The Teagasc NFS for 2021 shows that tillage tops the polls on environmental indicators with a phosphorus use efficiency rating of 84.8% and a nitrogen use efficiency rating of 65.9%. Carbon emissions were at just 2.5t of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare and much of these emissions came from animals on the farm. Tillage area should be increasing to help meet our climate targets.
