The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue today (Thursday, September 26) told the Dáil that he will not extend the permitted period for slurry spreading past next Tuesday (October 1).
In response to a question raised by the Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture and rural development, Martin Kenny, on whether the minister could introduce a short extension to the slurry spreading period, as he did last year, Minister McConalogue said an extension would not happen this year.
“Unfortunately Deputy Kenny it it’s not something that I intend to extend or I’m in a position to extend, for a very good reason because all of our priority has to be in terms of making sure that we improving water quality and in particular that we are keeping our nitrates derogation and that is dependent on good quality.
“The reason for the closed dates is there for good scientific reason so the slurry is spread at a time of year where once the nutrients from the slurry hits the ground that the plants are growing to be able to utilize those nutrients and soak them up in to the plant and grow grass, grow crops rather than sit there in the ground – not being utalised and be potentially leached into watercourses around and that’s what happens at this time of year onwards,” he said.
Minister McConalogue
The minister acknowledged that last year he did agreed to extend the slurry spreading period to October 15 last year.
But he said that was because the weather in 2023 was “very very different from what we’ve had this last month or six weeks”.
The minister said the harvest was “massively different” last year and farmers had an “unprecedented difficult harvest”.
But this year he said ground conditions had been much better and the “widows” had been here this year and the harvest had progressed well.
Minister McConalogue said in the south, in the southeast and the midlands the ground was much better and while it was more challenging the west and northwest, there had been “windows there and opportunities”.
“The challenge is at this time of year now October 1 is the deadline, if you were to extend that for example to October 8 or middle of October then you’re applying slurry on October 8 with the objective of growing grass, when is that grass going to be growing?
“When is that grass going to be available – mid-November, late November, if the grass is growing? If it is not growing then the slurry is still there in the ground waiting for weather events to bring it somewhere else.
“October is not the time of year to be spreading slurry, it’s spring during the year whenever the growing conditions are there,” the minister added.
However he also advised that if any farmers are “in particular difficulty” they should contact the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and outline their circumstances.
Deputy Kenny also highlighted in the Dáil that some farmers, in many parts of the country, had not been able to get slurry out because of poor weather and difficult ground conditions.
“Many farmers’ slatted sheds are full. Up to now, it has been too wet to spread slurry.
“That is their difficulty. They have to put their cattle back in and they need to get the slurry out.
“They have not be able to do it up until now in many parts of the country, particularly in the north and the north west. There needs to be some flexibility,” Deputy Kenny added.