Make sure your farm is nitrate compliant
FROM the Nitrates Regulation point of view all livestock farmers should farm at less than, or equal to 170 Kilos of Organic N per hectare.
A cow (irrespective of her weight or age is deemed to produce 85 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen (N) in a year (12 months).
If you are farming at two cows (or their equivalent) per hectare you are also farming at 85×2 = 170 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen per hectare.
All of you will have received your most recent CMMS profile in the last week or so. Look at the top right hand corner of that document. It gives you a statement of Organic Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) produced by cattle on your holding in 2007.
From this statement you will know if you are farming above or below 170 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen.
Derogation: What is a derogation – under the Nitrates Directive it is a permit or permission to farm above 170 Kilos of Organic Nitrogen per hectare but below 250Kilos.
Irish farmers have been granted this derogation from Brussels until July 2010. After that a second derogation will be sought by the Irish negotiating team.
Upper Limit – Farmers are not allowed to farm at Organic Nitrogen levels above 250 Kilos per hectare. Any farmer in this situation is legally obliged to take measures to bring his stocking rate below 250 Kilos. These farmers' options are rent additional land; export slurry or reduce stock numbers.
Obligations on every farmer with livestock: What Records do you need to keep?
Record 1 – Annual fertiliser plan
Record 2 – Chemical fertiliser accounts or records
Record 3 – Organic fertilisers (manures) exported or imported.
Record 4 – Notification of temporary movement of cattle or sheep
REPS farmers and Nitrates – The fertiliser plan which is part of your REPS plan in either REPS 3 or 4 will suffice for Nitrates Records.
Non REPS Farmers – Farming below 170 Kilos of Organic (N)
Record 1 Annual fertiliser plan obligatory.
Record 2 Annual fertiliser records (Accounts) obligatory.
The farmer keeps these records 1 and 2 on farm and they must be available if he/she has a Department of Agriculture (DAF) in section.
Nitrates Derogation farmers i.e. farming between 170 – 250 Kgs of Organic (N) per hectare.
In 2007 – You were obliged to have:
1. Fertiliser Plan
2. Apply for derogation and the closing date for applying was 12th October 2007.
This derogation only applies to farmers with greater than 80 per cent grassland.
In 2008 you are obliged to send an account of the chemical fertilisers used in 2007 to the following address.Department of Agriculture and Food, Environment Section, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. The closing date is March 1st 2008 – There is a special Fertiliser Accounts form on the DAFF website for this purpose.
For 2008 – Nitrates Derogation farmers must have a "Fertiliser Plan" fertiliser plan in place by March 1, 2008. The farmer keeps this fertiliser plan and adheres to it during 2008. Records for 2008 must also be kept, that is an account of the fertilisers purchased etc.
"Apply for a Derogation" – The Single Farm Payment application form for 2008 will have a section specifically for this purpose. Any farmer seeking derogation must complete that section of the Single Farm Payment form.
"Derogation Plan" It
is also mandatory for such farmers to have a "derogation plan" this is far more comprehensive than a fertiliser plan.
Details of stock numbers, slurry storage facilities a detailed fertiliser plan on a field by field grass etc are all components of the derogation plan.
A farmer seeking a derogation must have his derogation plan in place as soon as possible in 2008. This plan is kept on farm for inspection by the Department of Agriculture.
Are there penalties for not complying? Yes deductions are made from a farmers Single Farm Payment if he/she is not compliant.
The penalty can be 15-30 per cent of a farmers Single Farm Payment or indeed higher.
Teagasc has computer programmes for doing both the fertiliser plan and the derogation plan. If you need assistance re same contact your local Teagasc office.
