Farmers in Northern Ireland have been advised to plan their slurry spreading “to ensure readiness for the closed period which starts at midnight on October 15”.
The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has issued a reminded to farmers, in light of good weather earlier this month, on slurry spreading rules in relation to the upcoming closed period.
The Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) – which applies to all farms in Northern Ireland – promotes efficient management of livestock manures, chemical fertilisers and other nutrient applications to land.
One of the conditions of NAP is that the closed period prohibits the spreading of organic manures, excluding dirty water, from midnight October 15 to midnight January 31.
Farmyard manure must not be applied from midnight October 31 to midnight January 31.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) the aim of the closed period “is to reduce the risk of nutrient loss to waterways as during this period plant growth is significantly reduced and nutrients are more susceptible to leaching and run-off”.
“The optimum timing for slurry application is during the spring and summer months as this is the period of optimum plant growth, when plants have the ability to maximise utilisation of nutrients applied,” DAERA stated.
Slurry
According to DAERA “to further reduce the risk of nutrient losses at either end of the closed period” the maximum application rate for slurry from October 1, until the beginning of the closed period and during the month of February, is reduced from 50m3/ha (4,500 gal/ac) to 30m3/ha (2,700 gal/ac).
In addition to this the buffer zone when using Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE) is increased from 3m to 5m during that beginning of October and February period.
“During the spreading season (except February and October), organic manures and dirty water are subject to buffer zones where they should not be applied within 20m of lakes, 50m of a borehole, spring or well and 10m of a waterway other than lakes,” the department added.
It has also highlighted that following the end of the closed period, farmers should only apply slurry when ground and weather conditions are suitable and that they should “avoid areas which pose a high risk of nutrient loss to waterways”.
They must also not apply nutrients to waterlogged soils or land liable to flood, on frozen ground or if heavy rain is falling or forecast within the next 48 hours.
“These are all important management factors in reducing the likelihood of nutrient run-off into waterways,” DAERA added.
