New technologies will be a big help in bid to meet lower emissions target

SHANE DOLPHIN from Gurtymadden is a final year Agricultural Science student (Dairy Business) in UCD. Here he looks at the origins of the Nitrates Derogation and examines its chances of survival into the future.

THE EU Nitrates Directive is 29-years-old this month, being first adopted in December 1991. Its aims are to protect water quality across Europe by preventing nitrates from agricultural sources leaching (polluting ground and surface waters) and by promoting the use of good farming practices to improve water quality.

Each EU Member State is required to prepare National Nitrates Action Programmes (NAP) that outline the rules for the management and application of livestock manures and other fertilisers.

Ireland’s first NAP came into operation in 2006 which gave effect of the Nitrates Directive which was supported by national regulations. Irelands fourth and currant NAP was granted in 2017.

Each Member State’s NAP must include:  A limit on the amount of livestock manure applied to the land each year; a set periods when land spreading is prohibited due to risk; and set capacity levels for the storage of livestock manure.

In simple terms what does nitrates derogation mean for farmers? An approved derogation gives the opportunity to farm at higher stocking rates (up to 250kg’s organic N per ha) but are subject to additional conditions designed to protect the environment.

The derogation is an important facility for more intensive farmers. In 2018, 6891 intensively stocked farmers availed of the derogation. Over 445,000 hectares are farmed under derogation, which is 11% of the total agricultural land area.

For example, a dairy cow excretes 85kgs of organic nitrogen/ year so without a nitrates derogation a farmer can have a maximum of 170kg livestock manure nitrogen/ha. – therefore, a farmer can stock the farm at 2 cows/ha. With derogation, a farmer can stock the farm at 3 cows/ha, a max of 250kgs of organic N.

In 2020 the number of derogation applications fell to a four-year low, this is a noteworthy drop especially with the rapid expansion of dairy since the abolition of EU milk quotas in 2015.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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