A professor of public health has questioned why the maximum stocking rate under derogation is set to be reduced.
Dr. Patrick Wall was speaking at the DSM conference is Naas, Co. Kildare today (Thursday, January 26).
Wall is referencing the potential reduction of the maximum stocking rate from 250kg of organic nitrogen (N)/ha to 220kg of organic N/ha under new nitrates legislation.
He said that water quality is the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of the dairy sector in Ireland.
He said that although Ireland has some of the best water quality in the EU, the trend is going against us.
Wall reference the October 2022 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality report, which stated that Ireland will fail to meet its water quality targets.
Derogation
Wall questioned how reducing the maximum stocking rate for derogation farmers would help improve water quality.
He noted that these farmers already have to complete a number of measures to reduce N-loss or run-off from farms.
“You have to ask the question, where is the evidence that 6,840 farms in derogation are causing the problems?” he said.
“The farmers that are in derogation, the spotlight is on them and they have to do a list of things.”
Outlining the criteria for a farm to be in derogation, Wall said they must do the following measures:
- Liming programme;
- Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS);
- Reduced crude protein in ration;
- Attend environmental training courses;
- Soil nutrient management plan;
- Grassland management plan;
- Cannot exclude commonage;
- Include clover in pasture;
- They must have improved biosecurity.
Commenting further he said: “The derogation farmers are doing all this, yet we are going to make things tighter on them.”
He also noted that the introduction of banding will increase the number of farmers in derogation. Wall questioned whether this would reduce the number of cows in Ireland or increase the production from a smaller national herd.
He also noted that we are one of only four European countries that have a derogation; these are Holland, Denmark and the Flanders region of Belgium, although derogation is also being phased out in these countries.
He also stated that this is likely to have huge implications for land rental in Ireland.