A meeting is being organised for farmers on the consultation process for the new Nitrates Action Programme (NAP).
On Monday (August 9), the government launched a public consultation on the new NAP, which is due to come into effect from next year.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is hosting an online meeting for farmers to discuss the consultation next Thursday (August 19), at 8:00p.m.
There will be a brief presentation from Geraldine O’Sullivan and Aine O’Connell of the association’s senior policy staff. This will be followed by an open discussion where farmers can put forward their views.
IFA environment chairperson Paul O’Brien highlighted today (Friday, August 13) that there are over 20 proposals outlined in the draft consultation document but that farm income “isn’t mentioned once”.
“Many of the proposals, if agreed, would significantly damage family farm incomes. IFA will be highlighting this in its submission. Farmers will do more to protect water quality on farms, but adequate supports need to be put in place to make this happen,” O’Brien argued.
Stephen Arthur, the association’s dairy chairperson, remarked that the proposal on soiled water – which would prohibit the spread of soiled water for an eight-week period – is “far too onerous on dairy farmers”, particularly farmers operating split calving systems.
“In December and January, it’s estimated that approximately 65L of water is used per cow per day to wash down the parlour.
“Placing an eight-week storage period on farms, compared to the existing requirement of 10 to 15 days, would require farmers to increase their soiled water capacity six-fold for a typical 100-cow herd,” Arthur warned.
“This is an added expense of €20,000 to €30,000, which the department expects farmers to incur within a 12-month period. This is simply unacceptable”, the IFA dairy chair argued.
Farmers wishing to register for the meeting can do so through the IFA website.