With just nine days remaining until the closed period for slurry spreading in Zone A ends, farmers are being reminded of the rules for spreading slurry this year.
The use of Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) has become compulsory on farms stocked at 100kg N/ha or above from January 1, 2025.
In 2024, this rule applied to all farms with a grassland stocking rate greater than 130kg N/Ha.
The closed period for spreading soiled water came to an end on December 31, 2024.
When can spreading slurry commence?
The end of the closed period is not essentially a ‘green light’ for farmers to go out spreading slurry, and weather conditions should be looking favourable before slurry spreading goes ahead.
The opening date for spreading slurry will depend on the county that the farm is located in.
Counties in the Republic of Ireland are split into three zones: zone A, zone B and zone C.
The counties in each of the three zones are as follows:
Farmers in Zone A will be permitted to spread organic fertiliser (both slurry and farm yard manure) from Monday, January 13, of this year.
Farmers in Zone B will be permitted to spread organic fertilisers from Thursday, January 16.
Finally, farmers in Zone C will be permitted to spread organic fertiliser from Saturday, February 1.
The table below outlines the storage periods for cattle manure and the prohibited periods for spreading both chemical and organic fertilisers to land:
As the table above indicates, farmers in Zone A will be permitted to spread chemical fertiliser from Saturday, January 27 of this year.
Farmers in Zone B will be permitted to spread chemical fertiliser from Tuesday, January 30, of this year.
Farmers in Zone C will be permitted to spread chemical fertiliser from Thursday, February 15, of this year.