The chair of Dairygold has urged its milk suppliers to “take action” on their farms to prevent nutrient losses to watercourses in order to secure Ireland’s nitrates derogation.
Seán O’Brien today (Wednesday, April 10) warned that the removal of the nitrates derogation would “significantly curtail milk production, impacting the viability of the entire industry”.
“Strong leadership, including in-person engagement with EU Commission personnel, is needed now, to address industry uncertainty and allow farmers to plan for the future.
“For its part, Dairygold will continue to engage at member level to understand their position and at political level to seek clarity and certainty on this critical issue,” the chair of the co-op added.
According to O’Brien the co-op’s sustainability team – which includes a team of “six trained water quality advisors” – conducted more than 700 farm visits in what he described as priority areas last year.
He said this team provided practical guidance to the co-op’s milk suppliers and added that it was “crucial” that farmers acted on the recommendations from this team or from their Teagasc adviser.
O’Brien also said the co-op has seen “great work being undertaken at farm level”.
Nitrates derogation
The co-op chair has detailed that Dairygold is very conscious of the “significant impact” of the 2023 nitrates derogation mid-term review – which resulted in a reduction of the derogation to 220kg of organic nitrogen (N)/ha in some areas – combined with the nitrates banding changes announced in 2022.
“The future of Ireland’s derogation is uncertain. It will again be subject to review by the European Commission in 2025.
“To maintain the revised stocking rate of 220Kg N/ha, there will need to be verifiable evidence that water quality is improving in areas of concern,” he warned.
According to the co-op “environmental sustainability” is the biggest challenge currently facing the dairy and agriculture industry.
It has stressed that the potential removal of the nitrates derogation due to water quality or the failure to achieve the emissions target under the Government’s Climate Action Plan would impact the viability of farmers in the future and have a knock on effect on the rural economy.
O’Brien has also highlighted that Dairygold “recognises its role to influence those who legislate to understand farmers challenges and the implications of the removal of the nitrates derogation”.