Ireland is on an important mission to improve its water quality and, key to aiding farmers play their part in that, is the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP), operated by Teagasc.
Agriland spoke to ASSAP programme manager, Teagasc, Noel Meehan, about the initiative, what it sets out to do, and why Ireland can and must do better when it comes to improving our water quality.
ASSAP
The ASSAP programme commenced in 2018, enabling local landowners and farmers to seek solutions to problems associated with water quality with the support of a confidential sustainability advisory service. It is not connected to any regulatory or compliance mechanisms of the state.
Simply explained by Noel:
“ASSAP came about because our water quality isn’t where it needs to be.”
“The target is that all water bodies in Ireland – rivers, lakes, ground waters, coastal waters and estuaries – are all at ‘good’ status. That is where we need to be,” he told Agriland.
This is underpinned by the River Basin Management Plan 2022-2027 and the EU Water Framework Directive, but we have a way to go yet to achieve that status.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 report on water quality – published every three years – found that the main problem damaging our waters is the presence of too much nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, which come primarily from agriculture and waste water.
“These nutrients, if too abundant, can lead to the over-growth of plants and algae that outcompete and displace other flora and fauna. This over-growth can also cause oxygen depletion and damage the ecology of our water bodies,” the report stated.
The EPA also found that nitrate is increasing in nearly half of our river sites, while phosphate levels are also on the rise in a quarter of river site.
ASSAP priority areas
Under ASSAP, 190 priority areas for action (PAA) have been identified around the country as requiring intervention because they were deemed to be ‘at-risk’ water bodies.
Described as a “focussed and targetted” advisory service, ASSAP is offered to farmers on a free, voluntary, and confidential basis. So far, 2,500 farms have been visited, nationwide, by ASSAP advisors since its inception.
“The 190 PAAs were selected because they are at risk of not meeting their ‘good-water’ targets. So, we are focussing on those areas that need improvement first and foremost,” said Noel.
Phosphorous loss (diffuse) 31% Nitrogen loss (diffuse) 16% Sedimentation 26% Point source losses 15% Toxicity and pesticides 6% Ammonium 6%
“We talk to farmers, and we offer advice around fixing the issues that may be impacting water quality, and we work very closely with the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) too,” he said.
“Within that area, LAWPRO does stream sampling and stream assessment to see where exactly the river is impacted.”
As Noel explained, such a stream could be five miles long, but the entirety of it won’t be impacted – there will be good stretches and bad stretches.
“LAWPRO tries to find where the bad stretches are,” said Noel.
“By the very nature of the work that LAWPRO does, it is very targetted. It could go into a water body and there could be 100 farmers associated with it, but when they are finished their work, they might have that whittled it down to one or two, or maybe 20 or 30, depending on the situation.”
But only the farmers that are having an impact on water quality are ever being visited by ASSAP advisors.
The ASSAP advisor assesses farms under three categories:
1. Land management;
2. Nutrient management;
3. Farmyard management.
The ASSAP advisors then work to identify areas of the farm and the farming activities with potential to cause impact on water quality – usually this impact comes in the form of nutrient, sediment or pesticide losses to waters. And, they discuss the mitigation actions that are most suitable to remedy the issues identified.
Pattern of issues
There is a consistent pattern of issues identified with water quality and they tie in with the findings of the EPA report, as referred to above.
“It is remarkably consistent,” Noel said.
“The three main things that are impacting water bodies are: diffuse phosphorous losses; diffuse nitrogen losses; and sediment losses.
According to ASSAP’s 2020 interim report, to date, diffuse phosphorous, nitrogen and sediment losses account for 73% of the pressures identified in PAAs where investigations have occurred.
Diffuse nitrogen losses: the nitrogen goes down through the soil, into the water level, and ends up getting into streams and rivers. It goes below the roots and can’t be used by the plant.
Diffuse phosphorous losses: phosphorous loss occurs when you have heavier soils. When it rains, the soil gets wetter, quicker, and then the water starts to move over the surface, bringing with it the phosphorous, or sediment.
Phosphorous loss is easier to deal with than nitrogen because it moves overland, Noel said.
“So you can put physical things in the way to capture it – riparian margins, for example, or a small plantation of trees.
“These things will help to filter out the phosphorous, and sediment, and let the water flow through.”
Nitrogen losses are more complex, however.
“Where nitrogen is an issue, it is a function of how much nitrogen is being used, and a function of the soil type.
“Free-draining soil will be impacted more than heavier soils, for example.”
“And, if you have a high percentage of tillage or dairying going on, you will have a greater chance of nitrogen being lost,” he explained.
This is very much a consequence of excess nitrogen over crop demand.
Noel explained:
“The growth rate figures need to be at a certain level to justify putting out a half a bag of urea, or a bag of CAN to the acre, for example.
“That growth rate is decided by the soil temperature and the sun, and how waterlogged the ground might be.
“It is all about your nitrogen-use efficiency, so when you do put out your nitrogen, you need to ensure that it has the best chance of it all being used up.
“It is about being smarter about the way you use it,” he explained.
Rise in inputs
The rise in all inputs costs for farmers this year will see very efficient application of nitrogen. So, does Noel believe that this will correlate to better water quality?
“It will be interesting to see that, to be honest,” he said.
“In 2018, we had the drought and there was a very negative impact on nitrate levels in water because of it. People kept putting out nitrogen when really that should have been much more tempered.
“But last year, for example, there was a soil moisture deficit and much less nitrogen was used then because there wouldn’t have been any response to it.”
Cattle breeding 24% Dairy 31% Mixed farming 19% Cattle other 14% Sheep 8% Tillage 2% Other enterprise 2%
There is very good uptake of ASSAP among farmers who, once an issue has been brought to their attention and mitigation measures planned, are very eager to play their part.
If lessons can be learned and learnings can be shared, then they are.
“If we find that there is a consistency of issues arising in a water body, then we try to raise awareness, we send out newsletters, and we let everybody know what the issues were and what they need to do so that the issues don’t reoccur – or maybe more importantly, what not to do,” Noel said.